Year-on-year rental inflation reached its highest level in nearly two years in June. Having sat at just 1.7% throughout April and May, the figure spiked to 6.5% last month.
The Goodlord team
Jul 3, 2026
For the first time this year, June’s Goodlord Rental Index sees annual rent increases outstrip wider inflationary metrics.
The first five months of the year saw historically low inflation across the PRS, as landlords, letting agents and their tenants awaited the impact of May’s Renters’ Rights Act. While it’s too early to say for certain, June’s figures may represent the first evidence that the disruption many experts anticipated is starting to hit the market.
Based on thousands of verified tenancy transactions each month, the Goodlord Rental Index captures the actual rents paid, not estimates based on listings/advertisements. These figures reflect confirmed tenant contracts, thereby excluding marketing inflation or any aspirational pricing on property listings.
- Annual rent inflation jumps to highest level in almost two years
- Month-on-month rents see biggest spike since July 2025
- Rents increase across every region in England
- Analysis from Goodlord CEO, William Reeve
Annual rent inflation jumps to highest level in almost two years
In June 2026, the average cost of a rental property in England was £1,309. This is a 6.5% increase on the average price of a property recorded twelve months ago (June 2025), when rents stood at £1,229.
This represents a major deviation from trends seen throughout the year so far. In both April and May, annual rental inflation stood at just 1.7%.
The new data sees rental inflation outstrip wider inflationary metrics for the first time this year. June’s 6.5% annual rent inflation is more than double the 3% Consumer Price Inflation recorded by the ONS in May, and sees rents increasing at a much higher rate than wages, which grew by 3.4% last month.
Some claimed that the cooler market seen up until May of this year was a sign that stakeholders were in a holding pattern ahead of the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act. With year-on-year rental inflation now jumping to levels not seen since August 2024, these claims could well be ringing true. It remains to be seen whether this is a one-time recalibration, or the early stages of the major market turbulence many predicted the legislation would bring.
Month-on-month rents see biggest spike since July 2025
Following months of relative stagnation, rents were up 8.1% in June, compared to the prices recorded in May.
In May, the average monthly cost of a new tenancy was £1,211. In June, this figure grew to £1,309. This marks the largest month-on-month increase in rents since last summer, when rents jumped an eye-watering 17.7% between June and July 2025.
Average monthly rents in England are now at their highest level since September 2025, when they stood at £1,389.
Rents increase across every region in England
Rents increased both year-on-year and month-on-month across every region in England in June.
The largest year-on-year increase came in Yorkshire and the Humber, where rents were up 16% since June 2025.
The South West and North East each recorded annual rental inflation of 10% or above, while the East Midlands saw a year-on-year increase of 7.7%
Having topped the charts for year-on-year rental inflation in both April and May, London recorded an annual price increase of 5.6% in June.
In terms of month-on-month changes, the South West saw by far the largest increase, with rents down south up 29.5% between May and June.
The North East saw rents jump 15.7% month-on-month, while Yorkshire and the Humber recorded a rise of 12.6%. The smallest monthly increase came in the West Midlands, where rents were up 0.5% from May to June.
While the market took time to adjust to its new reality in May, these figures could suggest stakeholders are now actively responding to the changes brought about by the Renters’ Rights Act. Only time will tell whether June’s Index is an outlier, or a sign of things to come.
William Reeve, CEO at Goodlord, comments:
“These figures show a stark shift away from the trends we’ve seen throughout 2026 so far. After months of warnings about the potential consequences of the Renters’ Rights Act, June’s Index may well give us an indication of the impact it’s starting to have on the ground. We always expect rents to pick up across the summer months, but to see year-on-year inflation hit a near two-year high suggests a clear turning point in what has thus far been a cool market in 2026.
“One possible explanation for June’s spike in rents is the change the RRA has brought to landlords’ ability to increase rents during tenancy. With landlords now only allowed to raise rents once a year via Section 13, there’s a clear incentive to begin new tenancies at higher rates than they may have previously. The coming months will reveal whether June’s figures mark a one-time recalibration of the market, or the beginning of a new normal across the PRS.”
