New data from Homelet reveals rents in the UK rose by an average of 1.1% during July.

Homelet Rental Index report for July released today headlines ‘UK rents increase after Spring declines.’

According to the latest Homelet Rental Index the average rent agreed on a new tenancy signed during July was £925, compared to £915 in the same month of 2016, new data reveals rents in the UK rose by an average of 1.1% during July.

Commenting on the research, HomeLet’s Chief Executive Officer, Martin Totty said: “It’s often been the case in recent times that rents have strengthened over the summer period. It’s a time when renters contemplate moving, demand increases, tenancy terms are set, and when the anniversary of the tenancy often occurs. This year, that ‘seasonal’ factor brings some relief for landlords, who’ve endured a gradual erosion in rent prices over many months.

“At the same stage last year, the South East was the main driver of UK average rents. This time around it’s regions throughout the country leading the strengthening in rents. If we exclude the London region, the average UK rent for a private rental property has hit a new high of £769 a month, up 1.6% on this time last year.”

Martin Totty added: “Whether the market has now found some equilibrium remains to be seen, but landlords at least will be grateful for even some short respite. Predicting where the market heads from here is very difficult given the number of competing forces impacting the sector, either already being felt or still being contemplated.

“We know housing stock for sale is in short supply and the Bank of England has expressed concerns about the ‘credit overhang’ and lenders’ resilience should economic activity start to slow. At the very least, these factors should not be unhelpful to the rental sector in the immediate future, encouraging landlords to stick with property owning as an asset class, with potential still to provide relatively attractive returns compared with alternative investment choices.”

Read the Homelet Rental Index report for July in full click here.

 

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Housing Insight Report: June 2026

June’s housing market remained active, but buyers and renters continued to show caution. Buyer registrations dipped, while sales agreed remained broadly stable. In lettings, demand continued to outstrip supply, with nine applicants per available property. The average number of new prospective buyers registered per member branch dipped during June 2026, with an average of 55.…
Read More
Breaking News

Private rent and house prices, UK: August 2026

Main points Average UK monthly private rent increased by 3.7%, to £1,393, in the 12 months to July 2026 (provisional estimate); this annual growth rate is up from 3.3% in the 12 months to June 2026. Average rents increased to £1,451 (3.8%) in England, £843 (4.5%) in Wales, and £1,016 (1.7%) in Scotland, in the…
Read More
Breaking News

Scrapping Stamp Duty could unlock 300,000 extra home moves a year

Economic growth in key regions, such as around Cambridge and the ‘tech corridor’ being held back by stagnant housing market. Rathbones argues that a more mobile housing market could help unlock part of the UK’s £5.5 trillion housing wealth.   Reforming Britain’s property tax system could unlock more than 300,000 additional housing transactions each year…
Read More
new build home fronts
Breaking News

New-build property across Great Britain increased in price

The average house price for a new-build property across Great Britain increased to £501,658 in July 2026. The West Midlands recorded the largest average price increase, with the average new-build house price rising to £418,281 in July 2026. Yorkshire and Humberside recorded the smallest average increase, with the average house price rising to £347,846 in…
Read More
Breaking News

Where London leavers are paying a premium for green space

New research from UK Property Development (UKPD shows that Essex, Kent and Hertfordshire command the highest green space premiums among London’s commuter counties, with homebuyers paying a premium of up to 15.3% to live within a stone’s throw of public green space.   UKPD has compared the average asking price of properties for sale within…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 18/8/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Removing inefficiency that comes from humans having to understand where every piece of information lives   Thought Leadership by Fredérick Wakim, Founder of ImmoAdmin “For most of the software era, making a property management platform better meant adding something to it. Another dashboard. Another…
Read More