The research compared average monthly rents across each local authority area with figures from October 2024, revealing that Newport in Wales has seen the steepest annual rise at 16.7%, or £134 a month. Newcastle upon Tyne followed with a 12.5% increase (£126), and Broxbourne in the East of England ranked third at 11.4% (£167).
Across Britain, every region has experienced an uplift, with the North East recording the largest regional increase at 8.1% (£56). By contrast, London rents rose by a more modest 4.6%, though the capital remains home to the biggest cash increases.Camden saw the highest monetary jump, with average rents now £227 higher at £2,796 per month, followed by Lambeth with an increase of £208 to £2,454. Barking and Dagenham also saw rents rise by £169 to £1,659, while Broxbourne, Kensington and Chelsea, and Richmond upon Thames all recorded rises of around £160.
Other areas with double-digit percentage increases include Barking and Dagenham (11.3%), Rhondda Cynon Taf (11.1%), West Lancashire (10.8%), Gloucester (10.6%), Merthyr Tydfil (10.5%), and Nuneaton and Bedworth (10.3%).
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said:
“While the wider housing market has seen steady but measured growth since last Halloween, the rental sector tells a very different story. Demand for rental homes remains exceptionally high, and with the prolonged uncertainty of the Renters’ Rights Bill causing some landlords to exit the sector, there is even less stock to satisfy this demand.
“With tenants far outnumbering available homes, it’s no surprise that rental values have climbed across much of the nation. Even though only two London boroughs feature among the top ten for annual percentage growth, the high base cost of renting in the capital means even modest increases translate into some of the largest pound-for-pound rises anywhere in the country.”
