Welcome to 2026. The rental market rebalanced through 2025 – supply rose, tenant demand eased and rent growth slowed – which changes how landlords should think about pricing, voids and the year’s biggest legislative shift. Here’s the market context and three practical priorities before the Renters’ Rights Act deadline on 1 May.
Where the market stands at the start of 2026
According to ONS and Zoopla data, the picture going into 2026 is steadier and more competitive for landlords:
- Average UK rent reached around £1,366 a month (ONS, November 2025).
- Annual rent growth slowed to about 4.4% as the market rebalanced.
- Supply rose roughly 15% year-on-year while tenant demand eased – a more competitive lettings environment.
- Time to let averaged around 17 days nationally.
Sources: ONS Price Index of Private Rents; Zoopla Rental Market Report, December 2025.
Should you raise the rent in 2026?
The short answer is usually yes, but strategically. With growth around 4.4% and inflation moderating, modest increases are still justifiable – but pushing too hard risks longer void periods in a more competitive market, and retention is normally cheaper than re-letting.
- Good tenants, property well maintained? A 3–5% increase aligned with local market rates is reasonable.
- Clearly below market in a strong-demand area? You may have more room – but communicate early and justify it with comparable evidence.
- Tenant struggling or the property needs work? Hold steady – a void usually costs more than a frozen rent.
Our rental valuation guide and guide to how much rent to charge walk through benchmarking against local comparables.
Minimising void periods
With more supply competing for tenants, speed and presentation matter more than ever. Across the 824 properties we advertised in 2025, efficiency beat volume – by December we were achieving faster lets with fewer viewings. The fundamentals that worked:
- Pre-market preparation – professional photos, minor repairs and a deep clean before listing.
- Accurate pricing against local comparables, rather than an optimistic asking rent.
- Fast tenant processing – our average referencing time was around five days.
- Proactive renewals – start the conversation about three months before a tenancy ends.
Getting ready for the Renters’ Rights Act
The biggest change to the sector in a generation received Royal Assent in October 2025, with its headline reforms commencing on 1 May 2026 in England. The key dates:
- 30 April 2026 – the last day to serve a Section 21 “no-fault” notice.
- 1 May 2026 – Section 21 is abolished and tenancies become periodic (rolling) by default; possession is obtained through the expanded Section 8 grounds.
- 31 May 2026 – deadline to give existing tenants the required written statement of terms (penalties apply for non-compliance).
Practically, that means reviewing your tenancy agreements, getting familiar with the Section 8 possession grounds (your route once Section 21 goes), and checking compliance – including Awaab’s Law on damp and mould and EPC standards. A note on territory: these changes apply to England. Wales has operated a similar model since the Renting Homes (Wales) Act came into force in December 2022, and Scotland ended no-fault evictions back in 2017 under the Private Residential Tenancy. Wherever you let, the direction of travel is the same – open-ended tenancies and grounds-based possession. Our full Renters’ Rights Act guide covers the detail and the later-phase dates.
Behind the scenes our team also guided landlords through possession cases, long-running managed tenancies and first-time lets this winter – the kind of support that earned a run of five-star reviews.
Plan your 2026 strategy
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