June saw rents across England rise for the sixth consecutive month while voids dropped steeply, data from Goodlord’s latest Rental Index reveals.

The cost of rent rose in seven of the eight regions with the average cost of rent per property in England now £1,148 – up from £1,111 in May – a 3.3% increase.

BIGGEST RISE

The biggest rise in prices was recorded in the South West, where rents rose by a huge 9% during June – rising from £1,092 to £1,191.

The Rental Index revealed nly one region recorded a decline in the cost of rent. The East Midlands saw costs drop by 1.08%.

The highest prices are found in Greater London, where the average cost of a rental property is now £1,965 per month.

Rental costs have risen for six consecutive months, with prices now at their highest level recorded since September 2022. The highest average rents last year were recorded in September, when costs hit a peak of £1,249.

During another month of rental cost rises, another key indicator that the market is heating up for summer can be seen in the void figures.

VOID PERIODS

During June, void periods in England fell by an average of three days – dropping from 19 to 16 days on average – a reduction of 15%.

Oli Sherlock, Director of Insurance at Goodlord, says: “We’ve now seen six consecutive months of price rises and we predict this to continue throughout the summer.

“The fairly sizable drop in void periods during June also reflects this intensification of demand, as tenants snap up properties as soon as they come on the market.

We’ll likely see prices and demand peaking as we hit the start of the academic year.

“Whilst things normally begin to cool down over the autumn and winter, if supply issues continue we could see this pressure on rental stock continue, affecting all industry stakeholders.”