Tenant demand across England rose 1.4% in the third quarter of 2026, with 31.1% of rental listings already marked as let agreed, according to LegalforLandlords. The figure sits 0.1% below the same period last year.
LegalforLandlords' Rental Demand Index measures the share of rental listings in each English county marked 'let agreed', which shows how quickly tenants are securing available stock. Nationally, demand has climbed 1.4% since Q2, and more than three in ten listings are now let agreed.
Highest and lowest demand
The City of London and West Sussex recorded the strongest level of tenant demand in Q3, with 43.5% of listings in each county let agreed. The next eight counties were:
- Herefordshire (41.8%)
- Hertfordshire (41.3%)
- Warwickshire (40.1%)
- Cumbria (40.1%)
- Shropshire (40%)
- Wiltshire (39.9%)
- Norfolk (39.1%)
- Hampshire (39%)
Demand was lowest in Tyne & Wear (18.3%), Nottinghamshire (21.1%) and the East Riding of Yorkshire (24%). The top ten spans London and regional counties, but demand varies widely across the country.
Quarterly movement
The City of London recorded the largest quarterly rise, up 13.5% in Q3. The City of Bristol rose 5.4%, Greater Manchester 4.5%, Merseyside 4.3% and Greater London 3.9%. Some established high-demand markets cooled over the summer, while several large urban areas saw tenant demand climb. The biggest quarterly falls came in Rutland (down 10.2%), Gloucestershire (down 7.8%) and the Isle of Wight (down 7.8%).
Annual movement
Herefordshire led annual growth, with tenant demand 8.9% higher than in Q3 2025. The City of Bristol rose 6.7% and North Yorkshire 5.9%, followed by the City of London (5.3%), Staffordshire (5.1%), and Shropshire and Devon (3.3% each). England as a whole is broadly unchanged on the year, but individual counties differ widely.
"After a period of intense competition for rental property, the latest figures suggest the market is becoming more nuanced," said Sim Sekhon, group chief executive of LegalforLandlords.
"Demand is strengthening in some areas while easing in others, which means landlords can no longer rely on a one-size-fits-all approach to pricing or tenant demand. Understanding the dynamics of the local market is increasingly important when deciding where to set rents and how quickly to bring a property to market."
"For landlords, this makes achieving the right balance particularly important. Setting a realistic rent can help attract suitable tenants and reduce void periods, while a sustainable tenancy ultimately offers greater value than simply maximising the initial rental price. The regional variation we're seeing reinforces the importance of making decisions based on current local conditions rather than broader national trends."
"For letting agents, the changing market also creates an opportunity to add greater value through better local insight and financial management. As demand becomes more uneven across different markets, agents that can help landlords understand those shifts while managing rents, deposits and compliance effectively will be well placed to support successful long-term tenancies."
