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Goodlord Rental Index
Goodlord Rental IndexMay 2025
Monthly key figures for the private rented sector

Welcome to Goodlord's May 2025 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, void periods, and more.

The latest Rental Index from Goodlord found that that rents in England rose during May, with prices up by 1% compared to April figures. Year-on-year, rents are up by 3.7%, and void periods remained at 21 days.

Toby Burgess-Smith
Data Analyst, Goodlord

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1. Year-on-year rents up 3.7%

In May 2025, the average rent per property in England was £1,226. This is 3.7% higher than May 2024’s figure of £1,183. This equates to an increase of £43 per month (or £516 per year) for tenants. However, May’s year-on-year rise of 3.7% is slightly lower than April’s figure of 4.2%.

At a regional level, the North West and the South East recorded year-on-year rent rises of over 5%. At the other end of the scale, the West Midlands recorded an annual rise of less than 3%.

It was patchier news for tenants during May, with average salaries of those signing new leases dipping month-on-month. Overall, average salaries were down 2.5% in May - reducing from April’s £38,629 to £37,676. Salaries are still up by 1.57% year-on-year, although this is now lower than the inflation in rental costs.

Click on region names to toggle them on and off

Average monthly rent across UK regions since January 2020.

2. Month-on-month rents rise for fifth month in a row

Rents rose during May, with price increases recorded in all but one region of England.The average rent of a new tenancy is now £1,226, up from £1,216 in April - a rise of almost 1%. This is the highest rental average recorded by the Index since October 2024.

The most significant swing was recorded in the North East, where rents were up by 2.2%. This was followed by the East Midlands, which saw a 1.8% rise in costs.

All regions recorded an increase in average rents, with the exception of the South West where prices dipped by 0.6%.

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

3. Voids hold steady for third month in a row

For the third month in a row, voids held steady; remaining unchanged at 21 days.

However, it was a decidedly more mixed picture at regional level. Across the East Midlands, North West, South East and South West, voids shortened as tenant demand spiked.

At the same time, voids lengthened considerably in the West Midlands (up 53%) and in Greater London (up 19%).

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.

William Reeve, CEO of Goodlord, says:

“Data from the last 6 years consistently shows that rental prices peak in late summer and early autumn. The way the numbers are currently looking suggests that this year will be no exception and that a range of new rental records will be set in the coming months. Although the pace of year-on-year increases is starting to slow - and this is definitely a trend to watch closely - ongoing supply issues coupled with landlord jitters ahead of the Renters’ Rights Bill means that rents remain on track to rise for the foreseeable.”