Over half (51%) of all listings in West Sussex secured a tenant during the first quarter of 2025, making it the rental demand hotspot.
Tenant demand for rental homes in England grew up +0.5% between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, research by tenancy deposit firm Zero Deposit has found.
Other areas with strong demand were Suffolk (49.1%), Wiltshire (49%), the Isle of Wight (48.5%), Rutland (46%), and Somerset (45.9%).
Meanwhile, demand was lowest in West Yorkshire (14.1%), Nottinghamshire (15.4%), and South Yorkshire (17.3%).
Sam Reynolds, chief executive of Zero Deposit, said: “The market continues to suffer from a severe imbalance between supply and demand with multiple tenants wrestling over every single property that becomes available.
“Now that we’re heading into Spring and Summer, typically the market’s busiest periods, demand pressures are only going to get worse as more and more tenants look to make their next move.
“We are seeing the results of stubbornly high house prices forcing more people to postpone their first purchases and therefore rent for longer than ever before, and also a constant lack of new supply to the rental market, particularly outside of our major cities.
“The government appears to be pushing to address supply issues with its ambitious new homes targets which, if met, can create more rental stock and more for-sale stock, thus helping ease prices in both markets.
“But with the introduction of the Renters Rights’ Bill, we may be facing another obstacle as an increased number of landlords may choose to exit the sector due to the instability created by the bill.”
Quarterly movement
Tenant demand for rental homes in England grew up +0.5% between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025.
While the national picture shows a slight growth in demand, 31 English counties saw an above average boost in demand during the first quarter of the year.
The Isle of Wight saw the biggest increase of all, seeing demand soar by +17.2% on the quarter. Particularly strong demand growth was also recorded in Rutland (+14.1%), Herefordshire (+8.4%), Wiltshire (+7.3%), and Gloucestershire (+7%)
Suffolk (+6.2%), Lincolnshire (+5.1%), Worcestershire (+4.8%), and Devon (+4.8%) also saw demand increase by more than +4.5%.
Despite a large proportion of England seeing good growth in rental demand, a number of counties did see rates decline.
The biggest drop was recorded in Warwickshire (-7.7%), followed by Tyne & Wear (-7.3%), Merseyside (-5.6%), and South Yorkshire (-5.6%).
