"Competition for good-quality rental property remains intense, which helps explain why rents continue to rise. "
- Alex Upton - Hampshire Trust Bank
Average UK monthly private rent rose by 3.7% to £1,393 in the year leading up to July 2026, the Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found.
This annual growth rate is an increase of 3.3% compared to the 12 months to June 2026.
In England, average monthly rents rose by 3.8% (£53) to £1,451, higher than June’s year-on-year rise of 3.4%, while Scotland saw an increase of 1.7% (£17) to £1,016, which was also higher than the 1.3% reported in the 12 months to June.
Rents in Wales went up 4.5% (£36) to £843, although this was lower than the 4.9% rise in the 12 months to June 2026 and a significant drop from the peak of 8.9% in March 2025.
Across all English regions, the North East continued to see the highest private rent annual inflation at 6.3%, while the South East saw the lowest at 2.9%. London’s annual inflation rate increased to 3%, up from 2.2% in June. The capital continued to have the highest average rent at £2,317, with the lowest in the North East at £783.
"Competition for good-quality rental property remains intense, which helps explain why rents continue to rise," Alex Upton, managing director, specialist mortgages & bridging finance, Hampshire Trust Bank, said.
"The latest Propertymark report found letting agents have an average of just 12 properties per branch, compared with 98 prospective tenants. That is a significant imbalance, and in many areas good rental properties simply do not stay available for long.
"At the same time, the succession of legislative changes in recent years, culminating in the Renters’ Rights Act, has changed the way many landlords are thinking about their portfolios. The landlords we work with are being much more strategic and moving beyond expansion for its own sake.
"Strong tenant demand does not automatically make every acquisition a good investment, and professional landlords are increasingly discerning about where they put their capital. We’re seeing more focus on which properties genuinely strengthen a portfolio, where income is more resilient and where there is a clear case for further investment.
"That shift towards more considered, professional investment is positive, but it cannot make up for a shortage of rental homes. That means creating the conditions in which landlords have the confidence to keep investing while standards continue to rise across the sector. Unless we address supply as well as standards, renters will continue to compete for too few homes, and affordability will remain under pressure."
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, added: "Rents are being pushed higher as the unintended consequences of the Renters’ Rights Act play out. Some landlords have left the sector, which has reduced supply, while others have increased asking rents to reflect the additional financial risks they face.
"The consequences may be unintended, but they were not unexpected, and a policy designed to tip the balance of power towards tenants is adding to the financial pressures they already endure."
