Rental Market Overview – July to September 2025

The rental market remains robust, hitting new highs despite emerging signs of caution among both landlords and tenants.

Rents and Affordability

• National average rent (ex-London): £1,385 pcm, a new record
• Annual rise: +3.1%
• Sheffield average rent: £899 pcm
• Sheffield YoY rise: +4.6%

Affordability remains a growing concern, with the average rent now absorbing 44% of a tenant’s wage, up from 40% five years ago.

Rental supply is slowly recovering:

• Available homes: 9% higher than last year
• Still 23% below 2019 levels
• New rental listings: only 1% higher year-on-year
• Tenant demand: 14% lower than this time last year

The slowing pace of new instructions, combined with cautious landlords wary of upcoming tax changes and the Renters Reform Act (due May 2026), is contributing to a more fragile type of confidence.

The average new buy-to-let mortgage rate sits at 4.87%, down on 2024 but still far above pre- Liz Truss “mini-budget” norm.

Yields remain a bright spot:

• Yorkshire & The Humber: 7.2%, with the strongest annual rise in the UK
• North East leads at 8.2%
• London remains lowest at 5.7%

Overall, yields are rising modestly, with northern regions continuing to deliver the
strongest returns.