Lomond Data Points to Sustained Upward Pressure on Rents Across the UK
The UK private rental sector continues to find itself at a critical crossroads. The latest data released by Lomond, one of the UK's leading property services groups, confirms what many landlords, letting agents, and tenants have been experiencing firsthand: rents are still climbing, and the pressure on the market shows little sign of meaningful relief. Despite growing concerns around affordability, demand for rental properties continues to outstrip available supply — a fundamental imbalance that is keeping upward momentum firmly in place.
For landlords, the figures offer a degree of reassurance about the strength of their investment returns. For tenants, however, the data underscores an increasingly difficult landscape in which the search for affordable housing is becoming ever more competitive. Understanding what is driving these trends — and what they mean for both sides of the rental equation — is more important than ever.
What the Lomond Figures Are Telling Us
Lomond's latest rental market figures paint a picture of sustained upward pressure on rents across the UK. While the rate of growth may have moderated slightly compared to the sharper spikes seen in previous years, asking rents across much of the country remain elevated, and the direction of travel is clearly still upward. This sustained pressure is occurring even as affordability is becoming an increasingly prominent concern among renters.
The data reflects a market that has not yet found its equilibrium. Supply remains constrained, partly due to a wave of landlord exits in recent years prompted by rising mortgage costs, increased regulation, and higher tax burdens. At the same time, demand for quality rental accommodation has remained robust, driven by demographic shifts, the continued difficulty many would-be buyers face in getting onto the property ladder, and ongoing population growth in major urban centres.
The result is a market where available properties are being snapped up quickly, competition among applicants remains fierce, and landlords retain significant pricing power — even as individual tenants are increasingly stretched to keep up with rising monthly payments.
The Affordability Challenge: A Mounting Concern
One of the most significant threads running through Lomond's findings is the affordability challenge facing a large portion of the UK's renting population. As rents continue to rise, a growing number of households are spending a disproportionate share of their income on housing costs. For many, this is forcing difficult trade-offs between rent, food, energy bills, and other essential expenditure.
This affordability squeeze is particularly acute in high-demand areas such as London, the South East, and major regional cities including Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Birmingham, where rental values have surged considerably over recent years. In some of these markets, average rents have increased to a level where even dual-income households are finding it difficult to access the properties they need within a reasonable commute of their workplace.
Yet despite these pressures, the data suggests that demand is not collapsing. Tenants are adapting — taking on flatmates, relocating to more affordable areas, or downsizing — but they are not exiting the rental market in significant numbers. This speaks to the lack of viable alternatives for many renters, with homeownership still out of reach for a large portion of the population and social housing waiting lists continuing to grow.
What Is Keeping Supply So Constrained?
A key factor behind the ongoing rental pressure is the persistent shortage of available properties coming to market. Several forces have converged to limit supply in the private rented sector, and understanding them helps explain why rent inflation remains sticky even as economic conditions evolve.
- Landlord exits: A significant number of smaller buy-to-let landlords have sold up in recent years, driven by higher mortgage interest rates, the phasing out of mortgage interest tax relief, increased compliance requirements, and uncertainty around upcoming legislative changes. Each exit removes a rental property from the market, reducing the options available to tenants.
- New build shortfalls: The UK has consistently failed to build enough new homes to meet demand, and the rental sector is not immune to this wider housing crisis. Insufficient new rental stock coming to market means supply cannot naturally catch up with demand.
- Short-term rental competition: In tourist hotspots and major cities, the continued prevalence of short-term holiday let platforms has diverted properties away from the long-term rental market, further limiting options for permanent residents seeking homes.
- Rising development costs: Construction cost inflation and planning delays have slowed the delivery of purpose-built rental developments, meaning the pipeline of new supply is not moving fast enough to ease pressure in the near term.
What Does This Mean for Landlords?
For landlords who have remained in the market, Lomond's data is broadly positive. Strong demand, low void periods, and continued rental growth mean that well-managed, quality properties in high-demand locations are delivering solid rental yields. Landlords who have invested in their properties, maintained good tenant relationships, and kept pace with regulatory requirements are well-positioned to benefit from prevailing market conditions.
However, the data also carries a note of caution. As affordability pressures mount for tenants, the risk of arrears and the challenge of finding reliable tenants willing and able to pay above-market rents may increase. Landlords would be wise to balance achieving strong rental returns with ensuring that their asking rents remain realistic and sustainable for the tenants they are seeking to attract.
Outlook: Will the Pressure Ease?
Looking ahead, the outlook for UK rents remains one of continued, if perhaps gradually moderating, upward pressure. For rental values to stabilise or decline in any meaningful way, a significant increase in supply would need to come to market, or demand would need to weaken substantially. Neither of these conditions appears likely in the short to medium term.
Lomond's data reinforces the view that the UK rental market is in a structural state of imbalance, one that will require coordinated policy responses — including incentives to keep landlords in the market, accelerated housebuilding, and greater investment in affordable housing — to address in any lasting way. Until those changes take effect at scale, tenants, landlords, and letting agents alike should prepare for an environment where rents remain elevated and competition for good properties stays intense.
For anyone navigating the rental market right now — whether as a prospective tenant, an existing landlord, or a property investor — staying informed about the latest data and trends is essential. Lomond's ongoing research provides a valuable barometer of where the market stands, and its findings make clear that understanding the forces shaping UK rents has never been more important.