Finance
UK rents outside London fall for first time since pandemic, Rightmove says
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 28, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 28, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
UK rents outside London fell for the first time since 2019 due to decreased tenant demand, while London rents saw a slight increase.
LONDON (Reuters) - Advertised rents in Britain outside London have fallen on a quarterly basis for the first time since 2019 due mostly to a drop in demand from tenants, according to data published on Tuesday by property website Rightmove.
The average advertised rent for new private-sector tenancies outside London fell by 0.2% in the final quarter of 2024 to 1,341 pounds ($1,672) per month. That was 4.7% higher than a year earlier, the smallest annual increase since 2021.
Rents in London rose for a 13th quarter in a row but only by a marginal 0.1% to 2,695 pounds a month, 2.4% more than the year before.
Rents and house prices have been driven up by a lack of available property in Britain's housing market, something the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer is aiming to address by relaxing planning rules for new construction.
Rightmove said the number of available rental properties on the market rose by 13% compared with a year earlier, helped by a 16% drop in the number of prospective tenants. However, applications stood at a still elevated 10 per rental property, double the number before the pandemic.
"Agents report that some tenants are choosing to stay put rather than move due to costs, and while there is evidence of some landlords choosing to exit the market, there are also signs that other, perhaps larger landlords are continuing to invest," Rightmove said.
Falling mortgage rates and rising wages were also allowing some tenants to buy their first home, Rightmove added.
($1 = 0.8021 pounds)
(Writing by William Schomberg; editing by David Milliken)
Advertised rents outside London have fallen by 0.2% in the final quarter of 2024, marking the first quarterly drop since 2019.
Rents in London have increased for the 13th consecutive quarter, rising by 0.1% to 2,695 pounds a month, which is 2.4% higher than the previous year.
The rental market is being influenced by a lack of available properties, a drop in tenant demand, and some landlords exiting the market.
Rightmove noted a 13% increase in available rental properties compared to a year earlier, alongside a 16% decrease in prospective tenants.
Falling mortgage rates and rising wages are enabling some tenants to purchase their first homes, which could be contributing to the decline in rental demand.
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