NewSocial Smart
BricksmartBricksmartBeta
Market insights

Rental growth has left London

The North East is now England's fastest-growing rental market at 6.5% a year, and London is the slowest at 2.0%. Eight years of official data show how the growth story moved from the capital to the regions.

Sayu
Sayu· Co-founder, Bricksmart
· 2 min read
Chart of annual private rent growth in London and the North East, January 2018 to April 2026.

For most of the last decade, London set the pace for UK rents. It doesn't any more. In the year to April 2026, private rents in the North East rose 6.5%, the fastest of any English region. London's rose 2.0%, the slowest.

Eight years in one chart

The video tracks annual rent growth in London and the North East from January 2018 to April 2026, using the ONS Price Index of Private Rents.

  • Before the pandemic, London was flat. Annual growth was -1.4% in March 2018 and had only reached 2.3% by September 2019. North East rents were barely moving either.
  • Then London fell. Growth dropped below zero at the end of 2020 and bottomed at -2.2% in July 2021. Over the same period the North East kept climbing steadily.
  • Then came the squeeze. As the city reopened, London rents surged. Growth hit 11.0% by March 2024 and peaked at 11.5% in November 2024, the highest point in the series.
  • Then London turned. Growth fell back sharply, to 3.0% by November 2025 and 2.0% by April 2026. The North East overtook London in early 2025 and has stayed ahead since.

Why it matters

After almost two years of rises close to or above 10%, London rents have run out of road. The growth is now in the regions, where rents start from a lower base. For landlords and investors, that changes where the next few years of rental growth are likely to come from.

It is also a reminder that a single national figure hides very different local markets. London and the North East have often moved in different directions over these eight years.

What's happened since

The North East's lead is real, but it is not standing still. Later ONS figures put North East growth at 5.8% in the 12 months to August 2026, and asking rents on new listings suggest it will cool further. Our Q3 2026 rents update has the latest picture, region by region.

Source

  • ONS Price Index of Private Rents, May 2026 release. London and North East, all private rental properties, annual percentage change in average rents, January 2018 to April 2026. The latest two months are provisional.
  • Analysis by Bricksmart.
Taggedrentslondonregional

More in this category