Rents rose again in January but so did void days
Company boss William Reeve says the latest rent increases are a sign that ‘the market isn’t cooling down anytime soon’.
Rents increased again in January with the cost of a property up by 7% year-on-year, latest data from Goodlord reveals.
Its Rental Index also reveals that while void periods also lengthened, they were still shorter compared to this time last year.
NEW YEAR
The strong close to 2023 continued into the new year with rents increasing by 1% during January with the average monthly rent for a property in England now at £1,154 per month – 7% higher compared to £1,076 last year.
The North West saw the biggest increase in rents – up by 9% compared to the same time last year – while the smallest difference was in the East Midlands, although rents in the region have still increased by 5.5% year-on-year.

Greater London saw an almost 2% increase in rents during January, with average prices in the capital now £1,968.
Between August and October of 2023, rents in London surpassed the £2,000 threshold for three months in a row. And despite dropping below this threshold over the winter, the region remains the most expensive place to rent in England.
The North East was the only region to see a decrease in rents over 0.5% during January, with rents down by 1.5% from £853 to £839 and it remains the cheapest place to rent in England.
Void periods moved from 20 days in December to 22 in January but still down from last year’s average of 23 during the same time period.
MARKET MOVEMENTS
William Reeve (main picture), Chief Executive at Goodlord, says: “We don’t expect to see huge market movements in January; the pace of new tenancies tends to take a few weeks to pick up post-Christmas.
“So to see this uptick in month-on-month rents – as well as the consistently sizeable year-on-year rises – is a sign that the market isn’t cooling down anytime soon.”
He adds: “With a new burst of activity on the sales side of the housing market, we could start to see some interesting knock-off effects on the lettings side in the coming months which could bring additional turbulence.”