The London lettings market fell sharply in March, with average rents down 7.6% year on year. This marks a clear shift from February’s 3.7% increase.
Demand continues to fall, with 30 enquiries per property recorded in March 2026. This is the second lowest monthly level seen in the past three years, and down from 32 in February and 26 in January. This remains comfortably above the Rightmove average of 12.
March is typically a quieter month, with activity usually picking up from April. However, there is little doubt that rental levels are likely to remain subdued this year as affordability continues to challenge tenants.
We saw a small increase in landlords selling, but not enough to indicate a significant trend at this point. We are also seeing fewer tenants vacating properties.
There is, however, clear nervousness ahead of May 1st and the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act.
For those interested in a deeper look at the practical steps landlords can take ahead of implementation, please join our webinar with The Independent Landlord, Suzanne Smith, on April 15th at 11.00am. You can register here.
Top 5 Rental Hotspots right now
Barking & Dagenham – 382 requests per property for a viewing
Havering – 292
Dartford - 204
Islington - 192
Brentwood - 191
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Here are some of the blogs from March. I particularly like the blog on viewings which uses tenant and our agent feedback on the over 10,000 viewings we have done in the last year to come up with best approach to viewings: