The North West and Yorkshire & the Humber saw the strongest rental growth across the UK in 2025, Rightmove data shows.<\/p>\n
In the North West rents rose by 3.6% and in Yorkshire & the Humber 3.1%, surpassing regions like London (0.8%) and the North East (0.4%).<\/p>\n
Across the UK as a whole, rents rose by 2% in 2025, while Rightmove predicted a further increase of 2% in 2026.<\/p>\n
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove\u2019s property expert, said: \u201cThere is still a long-term shortage of available rental homes, but it looks like landlords are taking advantage of cheaper available mortgage rates, and more available homes will benefit tenants.<\/p>\n
\u201cExisting tenants or those looking to rent their own home for the first time are likely to experience a much more settled and balanced market than a few years ago, when the competition to secure a home was frenetic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is much greater availability of homes, and fewer tenants to compete with now, which should hopefully make the experience more positive for renters.\u201d<\/p>\n
The total number of available homes to rent is currently 9% higher than last year.<\/p>\n
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However, looking longer term, the number of available rental properties has dropped by a third (-33%) compared with ten years ago, illustrating the chronic shortage of rental property.<\/p>\n
There are some positive indicators for the future supply of rental homes.<\/p>\n
The number of new buy-to-let mortgages taken out to purchase rental homes in the year to October was 13% in 2025 versus the same period in 2024, while the number of remortgages increased by 23%.<\/p>\n
Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, said: \u201cThese figures show the rental market is gradually moving away from the volatility of recent years and towards a more balanced position. Slower annual rent growth and modest quarterly falls in some areas will offer some relief to tenants after a prolonged period of sharp increases.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, moderation should not be mistaken for recovery. Rental supply remains well below the pace needed across the long-term to stay in keeping with demand. While competition has eased, demand is still higher than pre-pandemic norms in many parts of the country. This imbalance continues to place upward pressure on rents.<\/p>\n
\u201cImproving buy-to-let mortgage affordability and working objectively to renew landlord confidence are encouraging signs, but long-term policy stability will be essential if this is to translate into a sustained increase in supply. Without this, rents may rise more slowly but are unlikely to fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving further into 2026, a steady increase in rents reflects a market that is calmer, but still constrained, underlining the need for continued investment in the private rented sector.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The North West and Yorkshire & the Humber saw the strongest rental growth across the UK in 2025, Rightmove data shows. In the North West rents rose by 3.6% and in Yorkshire & the Humber 3.1%, surpassing regions like London (0.8%) and the North East (0.4%). Across the UK as a whole, rents rose by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-second-home"],"yoast_head":"\n