Tenant demand strengthened across England during the third quarter, although significant differences are emerging between local rental markets, according to LegalforLandlords.
Its Rental Demand Index found 31.1% of rental listings were marked as let agreed during Q3 2026, up 1.4 percentage points on the previous quarter.
However, the figure was broadly unchanged from a year earlier, sitting 0.1 percentage points below Q3 2025.
The research measures the proportion of rental listings already marked as let agreed rather than the number of prospective tenants competing for individual properties.
REGIONAL DIVIDE
The City of London and West Sussex recorded the highest levels, with 43.5% of listings marked let agreed.
Herefordshire followed at 41.8%, Hertfordshire at 41.3%, while Warwickshire and Cumbria both recorded 40.1%.
At the other end of the table, Tyne & Wear had the lowest proportion at 18.3%, followed by Nottinghamshire at 21.1% and the East Riding of Yorkshire at 24%.
There were also substantial quarterly movements. The City of London recorded the largest increase, up 13.5 percentage points, followed by Bristol at 5.4 points, Greater Manchester at 4.5 and Merseyside at 4.3.
Rutland saw the sharpest quarterly fall at 10.2 points.
PRICING TO MARKET
Sim Sekhon (main picture, inset), Group Chief Executive Officer of LegalforLandlords, says: “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.”
He adds that setting a realistic rent can help landlords attract suitable tenants and reduce void periods, while agents have an opportunity to add value by helping landlords respond to changing local conditions.
