Rents in England have neither stalled nor surged under the new regime. Renters’ Rights Act rental growth has held steady at 0.6 per cent nationally since the reforms came into force at the start of May 2026, yet analysis by estate agent Benham and Reeves shows the pace quickening in five of England’s nine regions.
For landlords who feared the legislation would choke off demand, that regional split is the more telling number. It points to a market that paused for breath ahead of the changes and is now moving again, though far from evenly.
Renters’ Rights Act rental growth masks regional momentum
Across England, the average monthly rent has climbed from £1,442 to £1,451 since implementation, a rise of 0.6 per cent. That exactly matches the equivalent period before the Act took effect, when rents moved from £1,434 to £1,442.
Beneath that headline, the West Midlands has recorded the sharpest turnaround. Rents there are up 0.8 per cent since the reforms began, against just 0.2 per cent in the comparable period beforehand.
The North West posted the biggest regional rise at 1.2 per cent, up from 0.7 per cent. Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East have each seen growth nearly double, reaching 0.9 per cent compared with 0.5 per cent previously.
Not every region has joined in. Growth in the East Midlands was unchanged at 0.4 per cent, while the East of England, the South West and the South East all slowed, according to the Benham and Reeves figures.
London borough data shows sharp swings
The capital sits among the accelerating regions. Average London rents rose 1 per cent after implementation, from £2,294 to £2,317 a month, compared with 0.6 per cent in the preceding period.
Borough-level figures are more volatile. Enfield and Merton led the way with growth of 1.8 per cent each, Enfield up from 1 per cent previously and Merton from 1.5 per cent.
Southwark jumped from 0.3 per cent to 1.5 per cent, Greenwich from 0.4 per cent to 1.4 per cent and Ealing from 0.4 per cent to 1.2 per cent. Kensington and Chelsea swung from a 0.2 per cent fall before the Act to a 1.1 per cent rise since.
Pent-up tenant demand returns
Benham and Reeves attributes the shift to tenants who held off moving while the new rules bedded in. Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “The Renters’ Rights Act has been one of the biggest changes to the rental sector in years and it inevitably created a degree of uncertainty amongst both landlords and tenants in the run-up to implementation.”
“We saw many tenants sitting on the fence while they waited to see what the new landscape would look like, rather than committing to their next move,” he added. “Now that implementation has happened and there is greater clarity around the rules of engagement, we’ve seen that pent-up demand start to return to the market.”
That clarity rests on a substantial rulebook, set out in the NRLA’s guide to the Renters’ Rights Act and in the government’s Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet. Portfolio landlords still bedding in their processes may find practical help in our look at why the Act calls for lifecycle evidence and regular property inspections.
Von Grundherr was careful not to overstate the data. “It’s still early days, but what we’re currently seeing is a rental market that spent months adjusting to a substantial piece of legislation and is now getting back to business,” he said. “For landlords who have remained committed to the sector, the fundamentals of strong tenant demand and constrained supply remain very much intact.”
What this means for investors
The figures cover a short window, so they are a signal rather than a trend. Still, they cut against the assumption that the reforms would freeze lettings activity, particularly in the North, the West Midlands and parts of London, where rents are now rising faster than before.
That matters for investors weighing whether to hold or expand as others head for the exit, a theme explored in our coverage of the landlord exodus from England’s private rented sector. The squeeze on supply that von Grundherr highlights also runs through our UK rental market forecast for 2026.
The next test is whether northern momentum survives the autumn lettings season and whether the southern slowdown deepens. If supply stays tight, landlords in accelerating regions look best placed to push rents at renewal, while those in the South may need sharper pricing to keep voids short.
