UK rents rose by 5% year on year in October, according to the latest Goodlord Rental Index, matching the annual increase recorded in September. Average monthly rents reached £1,592, up from £1,516 a year earlier, leaving tenants paying an extra £76 a month, or £912 a year.

Monthly growth cooled, rising 0.6% between September and October, down from 0.9% the previous month, while average void periods lengthened sharply from 20 days to 28 days. Goodlord said the figures suggested the market may be edging towards its traditional winter slowdown.

North East leads the rises

The North East recorded the biggest annual increase, with rents up 14.2%, from £881 to £1,007 a month, an extra £1,512 a year for tenants there. Wales saw the sharpest rise among the nations, up 7% in a year, while rents in England rose 5.7% and in Scotland by 2.7%.

Goodlord chief executive William Reeve said he believed rental inflation was an unintended consequence of the Renters' Rights Act, a view attributed to him here rather than presented as established fact. The Goodlord figures measure newly agreed lets and should not be mixed with the official ONS measure, which put average UK private rents at £1,406 a month, up 3.8% in the year to September.

Sources: Letting Agent Today, Rents up in every UK region, but growth is moderating, 5 November 2026; Property Industry Eye, UK Rental Market Trends: Rising Rents Explained, 5 November 2026.