Rental stock levels are building in England as tenants elect to move more slowly, ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act.

The available rental stock in England has increased by 25% in Q4 2025, despite fears of a landlord exodus as the RRA is phased in, according to new research carried out by Inventory Base.

According to Operations Director Siân Hemming-Metcalfe (pictured), although seasonality will have played a role, a 15.4% year-on-year rise points to a larger-than-usual build-up of available homes and stock up 25% in Q4 compared to Q3, and 15.4% up compared to Q4 2024.

“The Renters’ Rights Act fundamentally changes the risk profile for private landlords. It makes affordability harder to assess, limits how risk can be managed during a tenancy, and reduces the levers landlords have to protect their assets.”

She adds: “What these Q4 figures tell us is that this hasn’t happened yet. Instead, what we’re seeing looks much more like tenant hesitation.”

“Tenants know the reforms are coming and, quite rationally, many are choosing not to move until those protections are firmly in place,” she explains. “When tenants stop moving, homes sit on the market for longer, and available stock builds up, even though the overall number of rental homes hasn’t changed.”

Tenants know the reforms are coming and, quite rationally, many are choosing not to move until those protections are firmly in place.”

The data, which comes from Rightmove, shows the biggest quarterly stock increases were recorded in the City of Bristol (74.8%), Leicestershire (67.6%), Tyne & Wear (66.7%), Warwickshire (66.4%) and West Yorkshire (65.2%). Rutland (61.5%) and Merseyside (60.1%) also saw (dramatic) growth of more than 60%.

London was the only region where stock fell at the end of 2025, with the City of London down -14.1% and Greater London down -2.4%.

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