After falling through much of 2025, rents are now accelerating according to lettings agency Hamptons.

The pace of rental growth on newly let homes picked up slightly in March, with annual growth across Britain doubling from 0.5% in February to 1.0%.

The increase is across Britain but was driven primarily by Inner London, where rents rose 4.1% over the year to March.

The past two months have reversed the decline recorded in Inner London since the beginning of 2025.

In March, there was a 24% annual increase in the number of tenants looking for a new rental home.  Every region in Britain recorded a double-digit increase in tenant demand.

Meanwhile, there were 1% fewer homes available to rent than a year earlier.  

Compared with March 2019, there are now 33% fewer properties available on the rental market.

There has also been a similar rebound in rental growth for tenants renewing their contracts.  

In March, rents on renewals rose by an average of 3.1% over the year, up from a four-year low of 2.2% in February.

Slower rental growth has reduced competitive bidding among tenants.  

In the first quarter of 2026, just 6% of homes were let above their advertised rent, down sharply from 56% in the first quarter of 2021.

March also marked the penultimate month in which landlords in England were able to accept rental offers above the advertised price, changing how prices are set rather than how high they ultimately rise.

Hamptons notes that if rental growth continues to accelerate, there is likely to be a divergence between advertised and agreed rents after the Renters Rights Act comes into force.  

Advertised rents are likely to move from acting as a floor to a ceiling, potentially encouraging landlords to set them higher at the outset to avoid becoming a cap.