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May 1 2026 - Renters' Rights Act Commencement Day

You have 0 days to:

Serve any final Section 21 notices

Stop accepting above-asking rent offers

Prepare for the rental bidding ban

Remove “No DSS” from adverts

Remove “No Children” from listings

Show one clear rent price

Stop using fixed-term agreements

Switch to periodic tenancy templates

Check which tenancies go periodic

Stop taking rent before signing

Take no more than one month’s rent

Move all evictions to Section 8

Train staff on new notice rules

Create Section 13 process flow

Add two months to rent reviews

File court claims for Section 21s

Update landlord move-in grounds

Update landlord selling grounds

Send the RRA Information Sheet

Create written terms where missing

Update How to Rent processes

Review tenant screening questions

Update pet request processes

Stop backdating rent increases

Discuss rent protection backbooks

Act now before it is too late...

Act now!
Goodlord Rental Index
Goodlord Rental IndexApril 2026
Monthly key figures for the private rented sector

Welcome to Goodlord's April 2026 Rental Index.

Jack Wilson headshot

Every month, Goodlord reveals key figures for the private rented sector based on tenancies processed through our platform, including average rents, void periods, and more.

The latest Rental Index from Goodlord found that that rents in England fell slightly in April, with prices down by 0.6% compared to March's figures. Year-on-year, rents are up by 1.7%, and void periods rose to 24 days.

Jack Wilson
Data Analyst, Goodlord

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1. Rents climbing slowly year-on-year

The average cost of a rental property in England during April 2026 was £1,205. This is a 1.7% increase on prices recorded at the same time last year, when rents were £1,185 per property, on average.

This means that the level of annual rental inflation in April 2026 is less than half that recorded during the same month last year. In April 2025, rents were up 4.5% compared to April 2024.

The data sees rental inflation continue to sit below the latest Consumer Price Inflation figures, which rose to 3.4% in March, as well as wage growth, which stood at 3.8% in April.

The three regions which saw the greatest year-on-year price increases in April 2026 were Greater London (4.80%), the East Midlands (4%) and the North West (2.80%).

Click on region names to toggle them on and off

Average monthly rent across UK regions since January 2020.

2. Monthly rents fall after stick quarter

Month-on-month, April rents fell by only 0.6% compared to March. Rents dropped from £1,212 to a new average of £1,205.

While the nationwide picture is one of falling rents, some regions in England did see rents climb in April. In London, rents were up 1.3%, while the largest increase came in the East Midlands, where prices jumped from £947 to £973 - a 2.7% spike.

The sharpest decrease came in the North East, where rents fell by a whopping 4.9% (from £820 down to £780) between March and April.

Click on region names to toggle them on and off

Average void periods in days across UK regions since January 2020.

3. Voids lengthened in April

Voids - the length of time a property is vacant between lets - increased from 22 to 24 days in April, marking no change from February.

The most dramatic lengthening in void periods was seen in the East of England (increasing from 16 to 25 days). Perhaps unsurprisingly, London saw the fastest turnaround between tenancies (17 days), as voids there were a full week shorter than the national average. The region in which rental properties remained dormant the longest in April 2026 was Yorkshire and the Humber, where voids climbed to 29 days.

3. Tenant salaries see uplift

Average tenant salaries rose by 0.8% this month, increasing from £29,637 in July to £29,883 in August.

The age of tenants dipped slightly, taking the average down to 32. The last time the average age was this low was August 2021, reflecting the number of student renters signing tenancies in the summer months.

William Reeve, CEO of Goodlord, says:

“We’re entering a very different rental market to the one we’ve grown used to over the past few years. Whilst we don’t typically expect to see rapid month-on-month inflation in the early part of the year, a drop in rents - coupled with a first quarter which saw very limited price increases - points to a rental market in a holding pattern.

“This is the final rental index containing figures recorded before the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act on 1st May. What we’re seeing in April’s data is that stakeholders have been in a defensive crouch, anticipating the impact of regulatory changes. With the new legislation now in force, the big question is whether this cooler backdrop gives the sector a chance to reset on a more sustainable footing - or whether the shock of new rules jolts supply, demand and therefore prices back into a more volatile phase.”