Average private rents across the UK continued to rise at the end of last year, but the pace slowed again, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.
Its data shows that average monthly rents increased by 4% in the 12 months to December 2025, to £1,368.
That's down from 4.4% annual growth recorded a month earlier.
England saw an average rent of £1,424, up 3.9% year on year, which is the weakest annual rise since May 2022.
Wales saw rents climb to £822, an annual increase of 5.7%, while Scotland's average reached £1,018, rising by 2.8%, its lowest growth rate for more than four years.
In Northern Ireland, rents increased by 5.7% to £873 in October.
Regional variations show that in England, the North East posted the fastest rent inflation at 7.9%, while London recorded the slowest at 2.1%.
Supply-demand gap narrows
Zoopla's executive director, Richard Donnell, said: "Rental inflation is slowing as the supply-demand gap narrows sharply.
"Improved affordability for first time buyers and a large drop in international migration means weaker rental demand, while there are 14% more homes for rent than a year ago, which is boosting choice for renters.
"Rental inflation is returning to normal and rents are on track to rise by just 2.5% in 2026, the lowest for four years."
Hampshire Trust Bank's managing director of specialist mortgages, Alex Upton, said: "While the latest ONS data shows a slowdown in rental growth, the underlying pressure has not gone away.
"Demand remains strong, supply is still tight, and that imbalance continues to feed through into pricing."
Rents end year lower
The ONS data landed just days after Hamptons reported that rents for new tenancies across Great Britain ended 2025 lower than where they began for the first time on record.
Its Lettings Index shows newly agreed rents fell by 0.7% over the year, the first full calendar year decline since the series started in 2011.
On average, tenants moving home paid £1,371, £10 less than a year earlier for the same property.
Five of the 11 regions Hamptons tracks recorded annual falls by December, compared with none a year earlier.
Tenants have more choice
The firm's head of research, Aneisha Beveridge, said: "On paper, 2025 looked like a good year for tenants.
"Rents on new lets ended 2025 lower than they started, and tenants had more choice than before.
"However, falling rents were driven more by strong first-time buyer numbers and wider economic weakness than by improved tenant affordability."
Landlords invest
Meanwhile, fresh figures from UK Finance highlight that more landlords are investing in the PRS.
In the third quarter of 2025, 59,467 new buy to let loans were advanced.
They were worth £10.9 billion, a sharp rise of 22.7% by number compared with the same period a year earlier.
The organisation also says that average gross rental yields improved to 7.15%, up from 6.93% a year before, helped by easing borrowing costs.
The average interest rate on new buy to let loans fell to 4.85%, while interest cover ratios strengthened to 215%.
Rent data affects landlords
The managing director of Accommodation for Students, Simon Thompson, said: "The data being reported here is interesting because it shows rent growth is still slowing, which affects all landlords.
"While rents grew by 4%, on average, there are regional variations, particularly across England and in London."
He added: "Hamptons says newly agreed rents ended the year 0.7% lower than they began for the first time on record.
"Despite cooling rents, it appears that landlords are still looking to invest in the private rented sector."
