Hello Neighbour

It is great to see our published research on landlord economics getting picked up by The Times this morning! https://hubs.li/Q04lH3_z0

The short version:

UK landlord returns are tighter than they have been in years. We modelled 8 work scenarios across London and Manchester and found that only ONE beats an easy-access Cash ISA on income alone: a mortgaged Manchester landlord who manages their own property at a 5.04% return on equity.

A few other findings:
→ The same landlord using a high-street agent in London actually loses £1,440 a year on a mortgaged property
→ Switching from agent to DIY saves around £2,200 a year on a Manchester average rent and £5,334 on a London average rent
→ Maintenance costs are up 26% since 2022
House price growth over the next 5 years (Savills forecast 18.5% to 2030) will lift most scenarios slightly above a Cash ISA, but only with capital growth doing the heavy lifting. On income alone, the maths is tight.
The two biggest avoidable costs are the letting agent fee and reactive repairs. Take control of both of those and the maths starts to work again.

Full 28-page report (free, ungated) linked https://https://hubs.li/Q04lG_xV0

London rents just had their steepest annual fall we've recorded.

April rental values down 10.9% year on year, accelerating from March's 7.6% decline. A quick read from properties letting right now.

April is usually one of the busiest months in the London lettings calendar. Previous years recorded 67, 62 and 40 enquiries per property in 2023, 2024 and 2025. April 2026 came in at 29, down from 30 in March, 32 in February and 36 in January. A clear break from the seasonal pattern, but still more than double the Rightmove average of 12.

Affordability is doing the heavy lifting. With rents close to 11% down year on year, landlords are pricing more realistically to secure the right tenants quickly.

The picture matches wider national trends. Zoopla's latest UK Rental Market Index points to weakening demand, improving supply and slower rental growth, with lower migration and a stronger first time buyer market cited as drivers. What our April data adds is that this rebalancing is happening more sharply at the new-let end of the London market, where rents had run furthest ahead of affordability.

The Renters' Rights Act is in force from today. Our full RRA resources, including our recent webinar with Suzanne Smith of The Independent Landlord: hello-neighbour.com/renters-rights-home

Full April update on the blog: hello-neighbour.com/insights/hello-neighbour-insights-london-rental-prices-down-10.9-in-apr-26

We are delighted to see Hello Neighbour's chairman, Phil Shelley, featured in an important article in The Times on letting agent fees. https://hubs.li/Q04cpnLK0

This is an issue we have been campaigning on for some time. It sits at the heart of our mission to change lettings for good. Landlords deserve far greater clarity on what they are being charged and why.

With the Renters' Rights Act coming into force on 1 May, we are calling for total transparency across the industry. Every agent should publish their Terms of Business clearly and in full so landlords can make genuinely informed decisions.

A more open and honest market is better for landlords, better for tenants and better for trust in the sector as a whole.

February Lettings Insights from Hello Neighbour

In February, average rents in London rose 3.7% year-on-year.

At the same time, the number of enquiries per property continued to fall, with 32 enquiries recorded in February 2026, one of the lowest levels we have seen over the past three years.

We expect rents to remain broadly flat in the coming months, much as they did in the second half of last year. We expect the number of enquiries per property to increase as we move into the summer months, following a similar trend to previous years, but continuing to remain lower than in prior years.

You can read the blog here. https://hubs.li/Q045bN5f0