Advertised London rents rose 7.6% year on year in October to an average of £2,401, according to lettings and property management firm Hello Neighbour.
The figure extends annual growth to six consecutive months since the Renters’ Rights Act came into force, up from 6.1% in September, and covers properties listed in Greater London.
Falling supply appears to be propping up prices. Zoopla’s Rental Market Report, published on 14 September, put the number of homes available to rent in London 6% lower than a year earlier, and 13% lower in inner London. If that pattern holds, the trend is likely to continue into the winter.
How the Renters’ Rights Act is shaping London rents
The Act now limits how landlords set opening rents. Landlords cannot accept offers above the advertised asking price, and rent increases are capped at once a year, which has encouraged higher listing prices from the outset. The firm’s conversations with landlords support that reading.
The figures cover properties currently on the market, so they reflect advertised rather than achieved rents. Across London properties listed between August and October that have since let, agreed rents came in 4.4% below the advertised level.
Other indices paint a different picture. HomeLet has yet to publish its October Rental Index, and a comparison will follow when it does. The ONS Price Index of Private Rents, released on 21 October, covers new and existing tenancies together and has London at £2,338, up 3.5% in the 12 months to September, unchanged from August.
Comparing the 6.1% September figure with HomeLet’s 3.3% puts the gap between asking and achieved London rents at around 3% last month, and lets since then suggest it has widened. That gap matters for any landlord thinking about a valuation or rent review.
Landlords are also becoming more selective about who they let to. Goodlord’s State of the Lettings Industry survey, reported by Property Industry Eye on 23 October, found 51% of letting agents are more cautious about recommending applicants than a year ago, and 26% of landlords are more likely to reject applicants they would previously have accepted.
A TDS Charitable Foundation landlord survey, reported the same day, found half of landlords in England froze rents over the past year, up from 39%. The firm expects agreed rents to rise more slowly than advertised rents, with hard negotiation over opening rents for the rest of the year.
Enquiries per property came to 30 in October, down from 34 in September. That compares with 21 in October 2025, but sits below 56 in October 2024 and 50 in October 2023. Demand has stayed steady across the year, though in most months below last year.
