At the end of May, there were 5% more homes on the rental market than at the end of May 2024, according to lettings agency Hamptons.
The agency claims the number of homes available to rent has increased annually in every month since August 2022, despite a decline in new buy-to-let purchases.
It says the increase in supply reflects how homes are taking a little longer to let, due to weaker demand. However, in recent months, the size of increases has dropped back to low single digits.
This slight increase in supply, combined with weaker demand, has reduced rental growth.
The average rent on a newly let property in Great Britain rose 1.5% over the last 12 months to £1,366 per month.
This means rents are growing at a similar pace to 2013, when they rose by an average of 1.6%. In May 2024, average rents increased by 5.1% annually, so the pace of growth has declined by nearly two-thirds over the last year.
Hamptons adds that for the 20th consecutive month, rental growth on renewals rose faster than new lets.
Tenants staying put saw rents rise by an average of 3.7% to £1,267 per month in May. This leaves the average tenant renewing a contract paying £99 per month less than a tenant moving into a new home.
For tenants moving into a new property, rental growth remains highest in the North and the Midlands.
Meanwhile, London rents fell 0.5% on the same time last year, reducing the headline national rate of rental growth by 1.0%.
Rents in the capital now stand below where they were in June 2023.
This article is taken from Landlord Today