Rightmove has given a detailed analysis of the current UK rental market.
The average advertised rent of homes coming onto the market outside of London fell in Q4 by 1.1% (-£15).
It’s only the second quarter in the last five years where rents have fallen, with the average advertised rent now standing at £1,370 per calendar month.
The latest data means that at the end of 2025, average rents outside of London were 2.2% (+£29) higher than in 2024. This is the lowest that annual rental growth has been at the end of a year since 2018.
It’s the same story for the capital.
Within London, average rents fell by 0.7% (-£20) in Q4 compared to the quarter before, taking the average advertised rent in London to £2,716.
Average rents in London rose by 0.8% in 2025, the lowest annual rate of growth since 2020, when rents fell in London following the pandemic starting.
In 2025, rents rose the least in the North East (+0.4%) and London (+0.8%) and the most in the North West (+3.6%) and Yorkshire & The Humber (+3.1%).
What’s happening with rental market activity?
The total number of available homes to rent is currently 9% higher than last year.
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.
There are some positive indicators for the future supply of rental homes.
The latest available snapshot of UK Finance data, which tracks both remortages and new buy-to-let mortgages, suggests that the rate of rental investment activity is the most positive its been since 2022.
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%.
Rightmove says it’s a positive sign that there is both new investment, and landlords choosing to keep existing rental homes.
In terms of buying activity, the competition between tenants for rental homes has cooled and is less fierce than the pandemic years.
2025’s average of ten enquiries for every available rental home is higher than the pre-pandemic 2019 average of six, but lower than 2024’s figure of fourteen.
However, the balance between supply and demand is likely to feel tighter in some areas more than others.
While London had an average of seven enquiries per property in 2025, the North West & Scotland had over double this number at sixteen.
What’s happening with buy-to-let mortgage rates?
Rightmove’s new daily buy-to-let mortgage tracker highlights the improving affordability for landlords looking to invest in rental property, which could support an increase in rental supply to the benefit of tenants.
The average two-year buy-to-let mortgage rate for a landlord with a 25% deposit is 4.84%, compared with 5.51% last year.
What’s the outlook for 2026?
Looking ahead to the rest 2026, Rightmove predicts that average advertised rents will rise by a further 2% across the year.
The balance between supply and demand has significantly improved since the pandemic years, which has been a key driver of 2025’s lower than usual yearly rent growth.
However, there is still a fundamental shortage of rental properties, which Rightmove expects to keep rents ticking upwards in 2026.
