ONS Private Rent and House Price Data - Comments from Hampshire Trust Bank

21 October 2026

Alex Upton, Managing Director, Specialist Mortgages & Bridging Finance, Hampshire Trust Bank

“Continued rental growth highlights the pressure that remains on the private rented sector, even as the market becomes more balanced in some areas. Rightmove's latest figures suggest that the supply of rental homes is still struggling to grow, with London facing particularly acute pressures. The concern is that we are not seeing enough new landlord investment to make a meaningful difference to the availability of homes.

“There is no shortage of demand for good-quality rental accommodation, but that alone is no longer enough to encourage landlords to invest. Higher borrowing and operating costs have changed the calculations, and experienced investors are looking much more carefully at where they commit capital. The conversations we're having are increasingly about how a property will perform over time, what it adds to an existing portfolio and whether there is scope to improve returns through refurbishment or a different investment strategy. Strong tenant demand is only part of the equation. Landlords also need to see that the investment makes financial sense.

“That is contributing to continued interest in specialist property types such as HMOs, where experienced landlords can potentially generate more resilient income while meeting demand for shared accommodation. But these are not always straightforward investments, and funding needs to reflect the property and the investor's wider plans. The challenge is creating the conditions in which landlords have the confidence and financial flexibility to continue investing. Without that investment, it will be difficult to make meaningful progress on rental supply, however strong tenant demand remains.”