November 12, 2025

Zoopla rental market report: Key takeaways for landlords

Zoopla’s regular rental market report is an important resource for landlords who want to keep on top of the market. The latest edition gives some important context at a time when sensationalist reports are making some landlords worry.

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Rentals are still growing across the UK

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Current market conditions for landlords are indeed ‘softer’ than they have been for some time. In this case, ‘softer’ means there are challenges to rental demand and growth. However, the most important fact to note is that the rental market is still growing despite this.

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Zoopla’s rental report shows that the average annual rental growth across the UK is still 2.4% despite the so-called ‘soft’ conditions. By cross-referencing with the Office for National Statistics, we can see that rents in some areas are going up significantly faster. For example:

Manchester – 5.1% year-on-year
Liverpool – 9.6% year-on-year
Salford – 6.6% year-on-year

Between those numbers and the Zoopla market analysis, we can see that reports of rents stagnating are not at all true. It’s all about where you buy to get the highest possible returns.

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Is demand too low?

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Rental demand has been growing in the UK for many years. The unaffordability of housing and the greater flexibility of renting have led to millions of households staying in the rental sector for the long term - but is rental demand now falling?

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In some ways, yes. Mortgage rates are coming down for the first time in years, and there is pent-up demand from first-time buyers. As many of them leave the market, the demand for rental property will naturally fall slightly from historically high levels.

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There are also more homes to rent now than ever before, so there is more available stock to go around on average. As with rental price growth, that depends on the area. For example, Manchester or Liverpool city centre properties are still in high demand regardless of national trends.

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But the overall effect of slightly lowered demands is that letting agents are receiving approximately 20% fewer enquiries than at this time last year. That has caused the average time-to-rent to fall to 16 days, compared to 12 days in 2023. However, it’s still lower than the average of 20 days pre-pandemic.

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Landlords can take some practical steps to make sure their properties are at the top of the list for potential renters, including:

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The rental market is normalising after a period of challenges

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The overall reality is that the UK’s rental market is normalising after a very challenging period. The Covid-19 pandemic, followed by a period of high inflation and cost of living, distorted the market. It is now returning to normal, and landlords should not worry when they see stories about falling rental demand or slowing rental growth.

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It is a good thing that the market is returning to a normal level of growth and demand. Property investment is a long-term prospect, and landlords should always think about returns over a period of years, rather than six or 12 months.

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A more normal market, with more sustainable and affordable growth, will secure your returns for the long term by ensuring a stable, reliable market. This is to the benefit of every landlord – especially once the initial rush of first-time buyers has exited the market.

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Once that happens, the rate of potential tenants leaving to buy their own homes will return to standard, and demand will increase, even with a greater number of homes on the market. To illustrate this, Zoopla expects the national average rental growth to be 3% by the end of the year. This indicates that rental growth in Q4 2025 will be faster than in Q3 – a positive sign for landlords.

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How can landlords secure the highest rents?

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Using a professional lettings and property management agency is the best way to ensure your property is performing as strongly as possible.

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Want to learn more about how you can benefit? Contact the team today for more information.