The 'golden' era of rental growth is over

Between higher mortgage rates and reduced tax relief options, landlords have had plenty of bad news to contend with over the past few years. But there was usually at least one area on which they could rely: rent. After the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, rental growth recovered quickly in 2021 and remained strong over the following three years. It peaked in August 2023, when rents on newly let properties across Great Britain increased by 12 per cent year on year, according to Hamptons data.

However, this changed over the course of 2024, with rental growth slowing significantly, as the chart below shows. Last December, it stood at just 2 per cent across Great Britain, the lowest since October 2020.