October brought a marked slowdown in the rental market across England, with average rents falling by 12% month-on-month following a summer and early autumn of record-breaking highs.
Voids — the periods when rental properties remain unoccupied — also lengthened across nearly all regions, reflecting the typical seasonal cooling of the market. However, year-on-year rent figures remained stronger than expected, suggesting that underlying supply and demand pressures continue to sustain rental prices.
Rents fell in every region of England during October, dropping by an average of 12% to £1,276, down from £1,447 in September.
The South West recorded the steepest decline, with rents down 24%, while the South East, Greater London, and the East Midlands all experienced reductions of more than 10%. The North West and West Midlands saw more modest drops of around 6%.
Despite the scale of the month-on-month fall, such shifts are consistent with seasonal patterns. In 2024, rents fell by 12.5% between September and October, while in 2023, the decline averaged 11.5% over the same period.
Compared with October last year, average rents are up 3.1%, rising from £1,238 in 2024 to £1,279 this year.
While this growth is below the 4.6% annual increase recorded in January 2025, it is notably higher than September’s 2% year-on-year figure — indicating that market demand remains relatively firm despite the seasonal slowdown.
The strongest annual rent inflation was seen in the North West, Greater London, and the South East, where prices are over 4% higher than in October 2024. Meanwhile, the South West and West Midlands saw minimal rises of less than 2%, and in the East Midlands, rents were slightly lower than last year, down by around £4 per month.
As rents declined, void periods increased, rising from an average of 16 days in September to 21 days in October — a 31% jump.
The West Midlands was the only region to buck the trend, with voids shortening slightly from 24 to 23 days. Elsewhere, the increases were more pronounced: voids rose by more than 50% in both Greater London and the South East, while the North East saw the most dramatic change, with voids almost doubling from 12 to 23 days.
In comparison, October 2024 saw average voids of 19 days across England.
William Reeve, chief executive of Goodlord, commented:
“This month’s figures present something of a paradox. On one hand, we’re seeing a sharp drop in rents and lengthening voids — exactly what we’d expect at this time of year. But we’ve also recorded a reversal in year-on-year rental inflation trends.
“Throughout 2025, annual rental growth has been gradually cooling. However, the uptick from 2% in September to 3% in October suggests we may be entering the quieter winter months with a little more heat in the market than usual. The year-on-year change will be the key metric to watch over the coming months.”
168 Goldhawk Road, Shepherds Bush, London, W12 8HJ / 020 8743 5254
© 2019 Daniel Paul Residential. All rights reserved./ Powered by 
