Rental competition hotspots across the UK this summer were concentrated in northern England and Scotland, with Birkenhead and Wallasey in Merseyside topping the list, according to property website Rightmove. Both locations averaged 30 enquiries for every available rental property during July and August, making them the most contested markets in Britain.
Rightmove ranked 1,000 locations across Britain by the number of enquiries each available rental listing received over those two months. Enquiries were counted when prospective tenants contacted letting agents to request a viewing. Locations with fewer than 25 new rental listings and 25 agreed rental transactions were excluded from the analysis.
The rental competition hotspots UK renters faced this summer
Carlisle completed the top three, averaging 29 enquiries per available property. Glasgow came fourth with 28 enquiries, followed by East Kilbride and Prenton in Wirral, each recording 27. The North West dominated the upper reaches of the table: six of the ten most competitive locations were in that region.
Kingswood in Bristol was the highest-placed South West entry, averaging 25 enquiries per listing at an advertised rent of £1,542 per month. Chorlton-cum-Hardy in Manchester and Morecambe in Lancashire both recorded 22, while Salisbury in Wiltshire rounded out the top ten with 21 enquiries per property at an average rent of £1,371 per month.
Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, said: ‘While rental supply has rebalanced compared with previous years, there are still locations where each available home attracts high numbers of enquiries from prospective tenants. The North West features particularly prominently in our findings, accounting for six of the 10 most competitive locations, while Scotland recorded the highest average level of competition anywhere in Great Britain.’
Scotland leads the regional picture
Across Britain’s regions, Scotland recorded the highest average level of rental competition, with homes there receiving an average of 19 enquiries each during July and August. The North West of England followed with 16 enquiries per property on average. The South West, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber each averaged 12, while the North East, Wales and Britain as a whole averaged 11.
London, the South East and the East Midlands each recorded just 9 enquiries per available property on average, placing them among the least pressured markets in the ranking.
Across Britain overall, the average stood at 11 enquiries per available rental property during July and August. Rightmove noted this is down from 12 typically recorded a year earlier, and well below the peak of 28 seen during the same period in 2022. July and August are typically the busiest months of the year for the rental market, the website said.
Babcock added: ‘For renters, the findings are a reminder that competition can still be strong in many areas, despite the improvement in supply in recent years. Starting a search early and being ready with the information an agent or landlord may need can help put renters in the best possible position when a suitable property becomes available.’
A North-South shift in rental demand
Aneisha Beveridge, research director at Connells Group, drew a broader parallel with trends in house prices. ‘In many respects, the rental market is beginning to follow the same path as house prices over the last decade, with lower-cost areas across the North continuing to outperform and narrowing the historic divide with the South,’ she said.
That pattern is visible in the rent figures attached to the top locations. Birkenhead, which tied for first place on enquiry volumes, had an average advertised rent of just £874 per month. Wallasey, the co-leader, averaged £975. Both figures sit well below the national average for major cities, which helps explain why demand there remains so intense: lower rents attract more competition for each available home.
For anyone actively searching for a rental property in these areas, Rightmove’s advice is straightforward: begin the search before the peak period, gather references and financial documents in advance, and be ready to act quickly once a suitable listing appears.
