What’s Happening in the Lettings Industry Right Now And Why Void Management Is the Key to Navigating It

The lettings sector in 2026 has an increasing widening gap between supply and demand. Recent RICS survey data shows tenant demand running strongly positive, while landlord instructions are in negative territory – meaning far more agents are reporting a fall in new rental stock than a rise. That imbalance is a key force pushing rents higher across most of the country.

Average UK monthly rents in mid-2026 range from around £1,355 for flats up to £1,577 for detached homes, with larger family properties commanding over £2,000 a month in many areas. For agents, that means landlords are increasingly focused on protecting the value of every property in their portfolio, and every day a property sits empty matters more than it used to. At the same time, fewer landlords are entering, or staying in the market. Upcoming EPC requirements are also pushing many landlords to weigh up costly efficiency upgrades on older stock, and Making Tax Digital is adding a fresh layer of admin for landlords who previously relied on simple self-assessment returns. For those who do stay in the market, strong demand means good properties are let quickly, and tenants aware of the competition are often ready to commit as soon as they find somewhere suitable. That’s a real opportunity, but only for agents who can move fast between tenancies, which is exactly where void management comes in.

Why Void Management Is Becoming Such a Big Deal

Void periods have always cost landlords money, but the scale of that cost has grown sharply. The average void period across England currently runs at 24 days, and the cost of that gap between tenancies has climbed to £1,135, up 12.9% in a single year. Even in London, with one of the shortest average void periods in the country at 16.6 days, landlords still lose over £1,200 per vacancy thanks to higher rents.

An empty property doesn’t stop costing money just because it’s not earning any. Council tax, utilities, mortgage payments and compliance obligations all carry on regardless. So it’s no wonder landlords are starting to hold letting agents to a higher standard based on how quickly and smoothly they can turn a property around between tenancies.

The Renters’ Rights Act Is Raising the Stakes

With Section 21 evictions gone and new rules shaping how tenancies begin and end, letting agents are spending more time managing the admin that comes with every changeover. That’s more paperwork, more compliance checks, and more opportunity for a void period to drag on longer than it needs to. This is exactly why smarter void management is a key tool, using connected systems can remove the repetitive admin sitting between one tenancy ending and the next one beginning.

Where the Time Actually Goes

Ask any lettings team where their time disappears during a changeover and you’ll hear a familiar list: chasing utility providers, updating council records, logging meter reads, and re-entering the same tenant and property details into three or four different systems. None of it is complicated work. It’s just slow, repetitive, and easy to lose hours to.

Rather than an agent manually notifying suppliers and councils for every single move, the process runs in the background, updates flow automatically, and duplicate data entry across connected platforms. Resulting in time saved and fewer void days, because the changeover itself moves faster.

Turning Void Management Into a Growth Opportunity

Successful void management provides an opportunity to build additional, compliant revenue. Agents who treat this as a strategic part of their offering, rather than a background task, are finding it strengthens landlord relationships as much as it protects their margins.

As void costs keep climbing and compliance keeps tightening, the agents who invest in an automated approach to void management are the ones best placed to protect landlord yields, and to prove their value in the market.

If you’re ready to make void management a priority, we’d love to help. Get in touch at hello@helpthemove.co.uk or call us on 0161 399 0247.