Annual rent growth on newly let homes rose to its fastest pace in 13 months in June, as Hamptons said average rents on new lets across Great Britain reached £1,392 a month, up 1.6% on a year earlier.
The latest figures point to a market that is firming again after a softer spell. Hamptons said the recovery has been led by northern regions, with the North East posting the strongest annual rise at 4.3%, taking newly agreed rents there to £859 per month.
For landlords and investors, the fresh angle is that rental growth is no longer being driven mainly by London. In fact, Inner London slowed again in June, while Outer London moved back into positive annual growth for the first time in a year. That shift matters for investors deciding where rent momentum still has room to run.
North East leads as Inner London cools again
Hamptons said Inner London annual growth slowed from 1.6% in May to 0.4% in June, while Outer London rose 1.9% year on year. Across the whole market, including both new lets and ongoing tenancies, rents were up 2.2% annually.
Existing tenants who saw a rent increase in June faced an average uplift of 5.4%. Hamptons said that figure has changed little over the past year, although fewer tenants are seeing rents rise than before the Renters Rights Act came into force. Scotland recorded the largest average increase among existing tenants whose rent changed, at 8.0%.
This follows Residential Landlord’s recent coverage of average rents climbing as supply pressure persists, which showed landlords were still operating in a market short of available homes. Hamptons’ June update suggests the next phase may be more regionally uneven, with northern markets pushing growth while parts of London flatten out.
That matters because stronger rent growth in lower-value regions can do more for investor returns than modest rises in expensive markets with weaker yield cover. In other words, headline national growth matters less than where it is happening.
Landlords still need to watch affordability and policy drag
Hamptons’ data does not point to a runaway market. A 1.6% rise in newly let rents is firmer than recent months, but still far below the peak growth rates landlords saw during the post-pandemic squeeze. That should keep affordability in focus, especially if wage growth or benefit support fails to keep pace in weaker local economies.
It also sits alongside Residential Landlord’s reporting on HomeLet’s latest rent data, where London remained the standout on headline cost. Hamptons tells a different story: momentum is broadening away from the capital, and that may shape investor appetite more than another expensive London benchmark.
The latest figures are referenced through Hamptons’ research and reports hub.
Opinion
Landlords should not read this as a return to easy rent inflation. The more useful signal is geographic. If northern markets keep outgunning London on rent growth while values stay lower, the investment case outside the capital becomes harder to ignore.
