Houses are dominating rental demand across England, accounting for almost two-thirds of properties attracting high levels of tenant interest as the market shifts away from traditional flats.

Property management firm Rushbrook's analysis of 15,583 properties found that although flats remain the single most common property type, at 34%, houses collectively account for 65%, with detached properties making up 27% of high-demand rental homes, semi-detached properties accounting for 22% and terraced homes a further 15%.

Flats dominate in the capital, accounting for 71% of high-demand rental properties. In contrast, almost two-thirds (64%) of those identified in the South East are houses, rising to 77% in the East of England. The divide is even more pronounced in the East Midlands, where houses account for 97% of high-demand rental properties.

Negative

Analysis of the latest Land Registry data to June by SAM Conveyancing reveals that flats and maisonettes are the only property type in Britain experiencing negative growth, dropping by 2.27% year-on-year to an average of £216,246.

CEO Andrew Boast says the fall in value across the leasehold sector is mirrored exactly by the rise in headaches for owners and prospective buyers. “We are seeing transactions stall on a daily basis because of delayed leasehold reforms and the sheer complexity of Building Safety Act compliance, ground rent clauses, lease terms and mortgagee protection clauses. Buyers are no longer just looking at the asking price, they are actively factoring in the legal risks and future liabilities.”

Auction

A sharp increase in flat sales in the auction market has also been attributed to landlords reviewing their portfolios, along with the difficulties faced by some leasehold properties.

Flat sales accounted for 27% of residential auction sales in Q2 – up from about one-fifth for much of 2021 to 2024 - according to Essential Information Group (EIG), which reports that the number of flats sold was also 18% higher than in Q2 2025.

Rushbrook MD Roma Sharma (pictured) says there’s higher demand for alternative property types such as larger houses. “This is down to the fact that people are renting for longer and across a much broader range of life stages, with affordability issues with respect to homeownership preventing many from making the move onto the property ladder.”

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