Advertised rents for the properties in Greater London that Hello Neighbour listed were 7.6% higher in October than a year earlier, at an average of £2,401. That makes six months in a row of year-on-year growth since the Renters' Rights Act came into force, and the rate has picked up from September's 6.1%. Across August, September and October, advertised rents were around 8% above the same three months of 2025.
We think prices are holding up because supply is falling. Zoopla's Rental Market Report, published on 14 September 2026, has the number of homes available to rent in London 6% lower than a year ago, and 13% lower across inner London. Zoopla links much of this to mortgage rates keeping would-be buyers renting for longer. If Zoopla is right, we can expect this trend to continue into the winter. Its next quarterly report is due in December.
The Renters' Rights Act is still shaping how landlords set the opening rent. Since 1 May, landlords cannot accept offers above the advertised asking price, and rent increases are limited to once a year, which has encouraged landlords to list higher at the outset. Many of the conversations we are having with landlords support this. It is still too early to separate that effect cleanly from genuine movement in the market.
Our figures cover properties currently on the market, so they are advertised rents not achieved rents. Across the London properties we listed from August to October that have since let, the agreed rent came in 4.4% below the advertised rent.
HomeLet's Rental Index, which records rents agreed on tenancies starting each month, has not yet published its October figures, and we will update this post when it does. The ONS Price Index of Private Rents, released on 21 October 2026, covers new and existing tenancies together and has London at £2,338, up 3.5% in the 12 months to September, unchanged from August. That puts London level with the South East as the slowest-growing region in England on the ONS measure, against 4.0% for England as a whole.
Advertised rents move first and furthest, because they respond to new pricing decisions straight away. Last month, comparing our 6.1% with HomeLet's 3.3% for September, the gap between asking and achieved looked to be around 3%. Our own lets suggest it has widened since. That gap is important for any landlord thinking about a valuation or a rent review.
Nationally, rent already absorbed 36.3% of the median private renting household's income in the year to March 2024, above the 30% the ONS treats as its affordability threshold, on the ONS private rental affordability series. Landlords are responding in two ways. The TDS Charitable Foundation's survey of landlords in England, reported on 23 October 2026, found that half froze rents over the past year, up from 39%, most often to keep a good tenant. Goodlord's State of the Lettings Industry survey, reported the same day, found 26% of landlords are more likely to reject applicants they would previously have accepted, and 51% of letting agents are more cautious about recommending applicants than a year ago.
Both surveys cover attitudes across England and the UK rather than London alone, but they match what we are seeing on new lets: landlords are more careful at the start of a tenancy and more willing to negotiate on the opening rent. That is why we expect agreed rents to keep running below advertised for the rest of the year.
We recorded 30 enquiries per property in October, down from 34 in September. That is above the 21 we saw in October 2025, which was an unusually quiet month, but below the 56 in October 2024 and 50 in October 2023. June and October are the only months this year above the same month in 2025. Across the year demand has been steady rather than building, and the autumn has not brought a pick-up.
The speed of those enquiries matters as much as the number. Our analysis of London listings found that more than half of a listing's viewing requests arrive in its first week, so a property priced wrongly at launch loses the most interested tenants before the price is corrected.
Price accurately from day one. The advertised rent is now the most you can accept, and on our own lets the agreed rent is coming in further below asking than it was over the summer. Base the figure on what comparable properties actually let for, and our guide to getting a rental valuation right covers how.
Get the right tenant in at the start. Section 21 has gone and every new let is an Assured Periodic Tenancy, so ending a tenancy is slower and harder than it was. Referencing, affordability checks and a proper conversation before move in matter more now than ever. Our guide to how to find a tenant yourself covers each step.
Keep your costs under control. When agreed rents sit below asking, the difference comes out of your yield. Fixed, transparent pricing with no ongoing letting fees and no maintenance mark ups protects it.
We expect rents to stay broadly flat at current levels for the rest of 2026. Because last November was weak, that would still leave advertised rents above last year in next month's figures. We do not expect demand to rise much from here, and with affordability where it is, we expect agreed rents to keep trailing asking prices. The distance between the two is the figure we will keep reporting each month.
If you want to know what your property would achieve rather than what it could be advertised at, we can help. See how Get Rented Pro works.
If you are letting a property, start with our analysis of how quickly enquiries arrive. More than half of a listing's viewing requests come in its first week, and the guide shows how to make that week count.