Agreed rents have taken a seasonal but unexpectedly strong downward swing month-on-month, new data has revealed.

Goodlord, which handles thousands of new tenancies each month, says agreed rents dropped by 12% between September and October on average across the UK, from £1,447 to £1,276.

The largest reduction in rents was recorded in the South West, which saw a drop of 24% while the South East, Greater London and the East Midlands all saw rent reductions of over 10%.

The smallest shifts were seen in the North West and the West Midlands, where rents reduced by a comparatively modest 6%.

Tenants and activist groups should not open the champagne yet – agreed rents are still rising by 3% year-on-year, albeit lower than the 4.6% year-on-year rise recorded in January.

Void periods

The drop in agreed rents is mirrored by an increase in void periods which have increased by 32% from 16 to 21 days, suggesting strongly that landlords and agents are finding it harder to find tenants to fill properties and having to drop asking rents accordingly.

William Reeve, CEO of Goodlord, says: “This month’s figures present something of a paradox. On the one hand, we have a big drop in rents and associate lengthening of voids; exactly what we’d expect to see at this time of the year.

“But we’ve also recorded something of a reversal in the year-on-year rental inflation figures. Throughout 2025 to date, these figures have been fairly steadily reducing each month.

“However, the slight increase from 2% in September to 3% in October could indicate that we’re going into the quietest season for the market with a little more heat than usual. The year-on-year change is the metric to watch over the winter.”