Goodlord Rental Index
Goodlord Rental IndexApril 2023
Monthly key figures for the private rented sector

Welcome to Goodlord's April Rental Index.

Toby Burgess-Smith

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

Average rents in London reached a 2023 high this month and rose steadily everywhere except the South West – where rents decreased – according to the latest Goodlord Rental Index. Void averages either rose or remained the same across England, with some areas seeing an increase of 4 days.

Toby Burgess-Smith
Data Analyst, Goodlord

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1. Rents rise to 2023 high across most of England

Rents have continued to rise steadily this month, with many areas seeing their highest average rents of the year so far.

For the West Midlands and South East this high was, in reality, a fractional month-on-month increase of 0.22% and 0.68% respectively. But some areas, including London, saw more significant jumps.

April marks the biggest jump in average rents for Londoners so far in 2023. Until now, rents in London had increased or decreased by less than 1% month-on-month. This month’s change marks a 2.28% increase, as the average rent in the capital increased by more than £40. Year-on-year, rental prices in London are now 11.4% higher than they were in 2022.

The East Midlands and North East also saw a considerable jump in rent prices, rising by 3.51% and 2.27% respectively in these areas.

The South West is the only area of the country where rents decreased, with a -1.6% drop in average rent prices. Rent prices in the South West fell sharply in October 2022 and have been decreasing steadily ever since.

The average cost of rent across England this month was £1,103.19 – a 1.16% increase on March’s average and a 8.98% year-on-year increase.

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Average monthly rent across UK regions since January 2020.

2. Voids on the rise

The average void period for a rental property either stayed the same or increased in all areas of England this month.

The most significant increases in the number of void days came in the South West and the North West, which both saw jumps from 18 to 22 days – an increase of 22.2%.

Voidage days in the South East and North East remained the same at 18 and 17 respectively.

England’s average voidage period inched up from 18 to 19 days in April – a 0% year-on-year increase, suggesting that this month’s void average is consistent with seasonal trends.

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

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.

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Oli Sherlock, Director of Insurance, comments:

“After a steady start to the year - with barely any significant change at all between February-March - we’re seeing movements in the rental sector. Rents continue to slowly and steadily rise, which is a pattern we would typically expect to see during this time of year as more contracts come up for renewal.  As we head towards the summer months, we will be keeping a close eye on void periods as more and more tenants look for new homes."