Average rents fell by 0.6% across England during April, according to Goodlord.

Rents in April 2026 were up just 1.7% from the same month last year, meaning rental inflation continues to track well below wider inflationary metrics. 

This is the smallest year-on-year rent increase seen since July 2025. 

April’s figures mark the final temperature check ahead of the Renters Rights Act which hit the market on May 1. 

Month-on-month rents fall after sticky first quarter

After a first quarter which saw steady, incremental growth, month-on-month rents fell for the first time this year in April. 

In March, the average cost of a new rental in England was £1,212. In April, this figure fell to £1,205, representing a 0.6% drop. 

The sharpest decrease came in the North East, where rents fell by a whopping 4.9% (from £820 down to £780) between March and April. 

Elsewhere, average rents across both the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber fell by 2.8%, while the South East saw rents fall by 1.6% (from £1,403 to £1,381). 

While the nationwide picture is one of falling rents, some regions in England did see rents climb in April. In London, rents were up 1.3%, while the largest increase came in the East Midlands, where prices jumped from £947 to £973 – a 2.7% spike. 

Month-on-month rental averages tend to hold steady at this time of year, but a fall in prices in April – coupled with consistently low rental inflation in the first quarter of 2026 – appear to signal a market bracing for impact. 

With the Renters Rights Act now in force, Goodlord warns that figures from the next few months will reveal whether or not its implementation sparks the kind of market volatility many have predicted.  

Rental inflation slows again 

The average cost of a rental property in England in April 2026 was £1,205. This is a 1.7% increase on prices recorded twelve months ago (April 2025), when average rents stood at £1,185 per property. 

This means that the level of annual rental inflation in April 2026 is less than half that recorded during the same month last year, when rents were up 4.5% year-on-year. 

This month’s year-on-year rental inflation is considerably lower than the 2.4% recorded in March, and marks the smallest year-on-year rent increase seen since July 2025, when inflation stood at 1.4%. 

The data sees rental inflation continue to sit below the latest Consumer Price Inflation figures, which rose to 3.4% in March, as well as wage growth, which stood at 3.8% in April. 

Inflation cools across the North

The North of England had been significantly outstripping the rest of the country when it came to year-on-year rental inflation in March, but April’s figures point to a considerable correction in this trend. 

The three regions which saw the greatest year-on-year price increases in March 2026 were Yorkshire and The Humber (6.6%), the North West (6.3%) and the North East (5.9%). In April, those year-on-year inflation figures fell to 2.5%, 2.8% and -0.9% respectively. 

The biggest year-on-year shift in April 2026 came in Greater London, where rents were up 4.8% compared to the same month last year. The next largest year-on-year increase came in the East Midlands, where prices have risen by 4% since April 2025.

Four regions (North East, South West, West Midlands, East of England) saw average rents fall in the year to April.   

Voids lengthen again

Voids – the length of time a property is vacant between lets – increased to from 22 to 24 days in April, after showing no change in the previous month. 

The most dramatic lengthening in void periods was seen in the East of England (increasing from 16 to 25 days). 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, London saw the fastest turnaround between tenancies (17 days), as voids there were a full week shorter than the national average. 

The region in which rental properties remained dormant the longest in April 2026 was Yorkshire and the Humber, where voids climbed to 29 days.  

William Reeve, chief executive of Goodlord, comments: “We’re entering a very different rental market to the one we’ve grown used to over the past few years. 

“Whilst we don’t typically expect to see rapid month-on-month inflation in the early part of the year, a drop in rents – coupled with a first quarter which saw very limited price increases – points to a rental market in a holding pattern.

“This is the final rental index containing figures recorded before the implementation of the Act. 

“What we’re seeing in April’s data is that stakeholders have been in a defensive crouch, anticipating the impact of regulatory changes. 

“With the new legislation now in force, the big question is whether this cooler backdrop gives the sector a chance to reset on a more sustainable footing – or whether the shock of new rules jolts supply, demand and therefore prices back into a more volatile phase.”