According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, the average monthly private rent in the UK was £1,381 per month in April 2026. This is £46 (3.5%) higher than twelve months ago.
Commenting on the latest rental prices, Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, said:
“Today’s figures underline the ongoing imbalance between tenant demand and the supply of properties available to rent. While the figures released today show a decline in inflation compared to the previous month, rents are still rising as supply remains tight in many local markets.
“Agents on the ground continue to report strong competition for good quality rental properties, particularly for family homes and properties close to transport links and employment hubs. Many landlords are still weighing rising costs, taxes and regulations, which are limiting the number of properties coming onto the market.”
He added: “What we are seeing is a delivery problem instead of excessive demand. Without measures to support investment in the private rental sector, pressures on affordability are likely to persist.”
Louisa Sedgwick, mortgage director at Paragon Bank, said: “Rent inflation has historically followed wage inflation and we have seen this relationship harmonize over the past year following severe upward pressure on rents in the post-Covid era.”
She stressed that the conflict in Iran was putting further inflationary pressure on the economy and that this was likely to be reflected in the rental market in the coming months.
“Landlords are not immune to cost pressures and 72% of those planning to increase rents in the coming year will do so due to the rising costs they face in running their businesses, with six in ten citing a higher tax burden after the Autumn 2025 Budget.
Sedgwick added: “It is often claimed that rising mortgage rates are a driver of rental inflation, but less than 40% of rental properties are mortgaged, with the vast majority of rental properties on fixed-rate mortgages, so the impact of rising mortgage rates is unlikely to be felt across the wider rental sector.”
Alex Upton, managing director of Hampshire Trust Bank, which specializes in mortgages and bridging finance, said: “Landlords’ strategies continue to change. We are having far fewer conversations about expansion for the sake of growth, especially as the Renters’ Rights Act begins to impact longer-term investment decisions. Investors are looking much more closely at which properties are still working financially, where income is more resilient and how portfolios should evolve over the coming years.”
“At the smaller end of the market, some landlords are choosing to reduce exposure where higher financing costs and stricter regulations have changed the economics of certain properties. There are still more sophisticated investors active, but they are approaching opportunities differently. We are seeing more interest in HMOs, mixed-use assets and properties where there is real room to strengthen revenues over time, rather than simply adding units where possible.”