The annual pace of rental growth continued to accelerate for the tenth straight month in September.
This is according to lettings agency Hamptons.
Newly agreed rents across Great Britain rose by 2.7% over the last 12 months, the fastest pace since November 2024.
This takes the average rent to £1,433 per month nationally, up from £1,396 in September last year.
Unlike the post-Covid pickup in rental growth, which was led by the Midlands and Northern England, today’s acceleration is more evenly spread across the country.
The South East and South West both recorded annual growth above 4.0% for the first time since September 2024.
Where an existing tenant’s rent increased, the average increase remained at 5.6%, unchanged from August but up from 5.3% in September last year.
At 6.9%, tenants in Scotland continue to face the largest average increase when their rent changes.
Rental growth for all tenants, irrespective of whether they have moved home, has continued to slow.
The annual rate of all stock rental growth has halved from 3.9% in the year to September 2025 to 1.9% over the year to September 2026.
The recent divergence between new let and all stock rental growth rates is unlikely to persist long term.
Annual rental growth in September 2026
Region | New lets | All tenants | ||
| Average monthly rent | YoY change % | Average monthly rent | YoY change % | |
| Greater London | £2,357 | 1.5% | £2,147 | 0.5% |
| Inner London | £2,812 | 2.5% | £2,622 | -0.5% |
| Outer London | £2,023 | 0.4% | £1,797 | 1.6% |
| South | £1,419 | 3.7% | £1,240 | 2.4% |
| East of England | £1,294 | 1.6% | £1,195 | 3.1% |
| South East | £1,544 | 4.6% | £1,332 | 2.1% |
| South West | £1,353 | 4.1% | £1,144 | 2.3% |
| Midlands | £1,080 | 2.1% | £932 | 2.5% |
| East Midlands | £1,017 | 0.3% | £885 | 2.1% |
| West Midlands | £1,136 | 3.5% | £973 | 2.8% |
| North | £1,030 | 3.6% | £867 | 3.2% |
| North East | £948 | 3.1% | £776 | 3.0% |
| North West | £1,090 | 3.6% | £896 | 3.7% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £985 | 3.8% | £869 | 2.6% |
| Wales | £888 | 2.5% | £815 | 2.2% |
| Scotland | £1,099 | 1.9% | £858 | 3.1% |
| Great Britain (GB) | £1,433 | 2.7% | £1,261 | 1.9% |
| GB (Ex London) | £1,196 | 3.3% | £1,035 | 2.6% |
Source: Hamptons using Connells Group data
Commenting, Aneisha Beveridge, Head of Research at Hamptons, says: “Rental growth on newly let homes continues to gather pace, with the acceleration now spread fairly evenly across markets outside the capital. So far this year, higher rents have mainly been felt by tenants moving home.
“But if growth continues to pick up, it is likely to feed through to more existing tenants in the coming months as the gap between new and existing rents widens.”
