A feared spike in rents ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act failed to materialise, new research suggests.

Only around a quarter of landlords appeared to pre-empt new restrictions on rent increases by front-loading ahead of the 1st May deadline.

Growth slows

The new Act limits rent increases to once a year, and inspection software platform Inventory Base analysed the latest rental data from the Office for National Statistics, to compare average rent growth in the first three months of this year with the same period a year ago.

Average rents rose by 0.77% to £1,434 a month, slightly below last year’s increase.

And nearly three-quarters – at 73.1% – of local authorities recorded slower rental growth than a year ago.

Little evidence

At a regional level, there is little evidence of a widespread push to front-load rent increases.

In the North East, rents rose by 0.65% in the first three months of the year, compared with a much sharper increase of 2.11% during the first quarter of 2025.

A similar pattern was seen in the East Midlands, where rents increased by 0.44%, well below a 1.39% rise recorded a year earlier.

Overall, only three of England’s nine regions have seen faster rental growth. These include London, where rents rose by 1.20% this year versus 0.63% last year, as well as Yorkshire and the Humber and the South West.

These figures suggest a far more measured response across the market.

Siân Hemming-Metcalfe, Operations Director at Inventory Base (pictured), says: “While there had been widespread concern that landlords would rush to increase rents ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act, these figures suggest a far more measured response across the market.

“In the longer term, the legislation should encourage greater stability in the private rental sector, but it may also lead to more decisive pricing at the start of a tenancy, as landlords look to future-proof against more limited flexibility.”

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