The True Cost of Renting in England

Year on year we see the rental market shift as the cost of living increases and the economic landscape in the UK changes.

There are many benefits of renting, including the flexibility around where you can live and for how long, along with the lack of maintenance costs and repair bills.

Renting is also a realistic option for those unable to buy, or waiting on approval for their mortgage as they take their first step of getting onto the property ladder.

It is common knowledge, however, that rent prices vary up and down the country, with increasing London rent prices regularly making headlines.

Considering this, we took a deep dive into rental costs from the Office of National Statistics over the past five years to learn more about the rental market, and understand how affordable housing really is in England.

 

Average Rental Prices in England – Up to 1 Bed Properties

	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	% Change (5 Years)
South East	£587	£731	£709	£782	£825	40.5%
London	£993	£1,282	£1,124	£1,393	£1,290	29.9%
Yorkshire and the Humber	£421	£439	£449	£479	£515	22.3%
East	£552	£556	£596	£621	£669	21.2%
West Midlands	£448	£468	£487	£497	£540	20.5%
East Midlands	£442	£437	£460	£490	£524	18.6%
England	£589	£588	£614	£649	£698	18.5%
North East	£390	£401	£415	£429	£458	17.4%
North West	£441	£449	£462	£485	£516	17%
South West	£599	£518	£525	£530	£509	-15%

The data showed that properties of a smaller scale, which includes a single room in a shared house, studio apartment, and one-bed property, have reached an average of £698 a month in England.

In the past 5 years there has been an 18.5% increase in rent prices for properties that fall in this bracket, with the biggest leap occurring between 2022 and 2023.

The South West is the only region to see prices decrease during this period, with the average monthly rental price of a smaller scale property decreasing by £90 between 2019-2023.

Similarly, the West Midlands, East Midlands, North West and North East have seen figures rise at a slower rate, with a less than £50 monthly increase during this period.

However there remains big disparities between the cost of rental properties in London and the rest of the country, with a 181.6% difference between the price of rental properties in London compared to England’s most affordable region, the North East.

Average Rental Prices in England – Over 2 Bed Properties

	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	% Change (5 Years)
South East	£1,323	£1,748	£1,784	£1,740	£1,987	50.2%
London	£2,283	£3,039	£3,017	£3,103	£3,323	45.5%
North East	£662	£709	£746	£777	£795	20.1%
North West	£789	£785	£828	£891	£946	19.8%
West Midlands	£828	£845	£894	£922	£992	19.8%
Yorkshire and the Humber	£815	£791	£842	£886	£967	18.7%
East	£1,079	£1,039	£1,157	£1,197	£1,262	17%
East Midlands	£788	£807	£838	£858	£912	15.7%
England	£1,096	£1,074	£1,150	£1,214	£1,264	15.3%
South West	£1,070	£874	£887	£910	£917	-14.3%

We also analysed the data for larger rental properties, including 2-bed to 4 or more bedroom properties across England, with prices reaching an average of £1,264 a month in 2023.

In the past 5 years there has been a 15.3% increase in larger scale properties, with the biggest leap occurring between 2020 and 2021, with average prices increasing by £76 per month.

Again, we can see that the South West has seen prices decrease during this period, with the average monthly rental price of a larger scale property decreasing by £153 between 2019-2023.

However, have our salaries also reflected these changes?

How Much Does it Cost the Average Local to Rent a Small Property in their Local Authority?

To determine the most expensive and affordable locations to rent today, we compared the mean gross salary in each local authority with its mean rental price in 2023. For properties of a smaller scale we assumed the occupancy of a single tenant.

Top 10 Most Expensive Locations to Rent in England

#	Local Authority	Region	Monthly Rent (Room-1 Bed)	% of Salary Spent on Rent
1	Newham	London	£1,101	35.6%
2	Hounslow	London	£1,037	32.9%
3	Tower Hamlets	London	£1,386	31.4%
4	Hackney	London	£1,267	30.9%
–	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	£1,442	30.9%
6	Haringey	London	£1,068	30.8%
–	Wealden	South East	£824	30.8%
8	Oxford	South East	£886	30.7%
–	Harlow	East	£818	30.7%
–	Barking and Dagenham	London	£813	30.7%

Our analysis has placed Newham, London, as the most expensive location for a single person to rent a small property in all of England. Data shows that the average monthly rent of a small property (single room, studio apartment, and one-bed property) in this local authority totals £1,101. This equates to 35.6% of a local tenant’s gross monthly salary of £3,093.

Money expert, Marcus Sätherström at Sambla shares: “As a guideline, we recommend aiming to spend no more than 30% of your gross income on rent. Allowing 50% for necessities and a further 20% on savings or debt repayments. So, if you earn £2,500 per month before tax, roughly £750 should be spent on rent.

“Based on England’s current mean gross monthly salary of £2,996, and the 30% rent rule, our study shows that the average person is able to afford 82% of smaller rental properties across the country. However, this percentage drops significantly to 7% when applying the same salary to London properties, and only rises to 72% with London’s mean gross monthly salary of £3,942.

“Before signing a lease it’s important to dedicate time to calculating your expenses and considering your personal situation.”

Top 10 Most Affordable Locations to Rent in England

#	Local Authority	Region	Monthly Rent (Room-1 Bed)	% of Salary Spent on Rent
1	Hyndburn	North West	£357	13.4%
2	Fylde	North West	£439	13.5%
3	East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	£374	13.9%
4	Brentwood	East	£770	14.7%
5	South Ribble	North West	£408	15%
–	Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	£443	15%
7	Darlington	North East	£382	15.1%
8	Bromsgrove	West Midlands	£493	15.2%
9	Wyre	North West	£420	15.3%
–	Bassetlaw	East Midlands	£373	15.3%

Residents in the North West have the most affordable options of renting on their own, with four local authorities in this region making the top 10 list. Hyndburn ranks in first position with a low percentage spend of 13.4% of their monthly salary.

How Much Does it Cost the Average Couple to Rent a Larger Property in their Local Authority?

To determine the most expensive and affordable locations for couples to rent across England, we applied the same formula on properties of a larger scale as these are more likely to be occupied by two tenants. Larger properties include two-beds, three-beds, and four-plus beds.

Top 10 Most Expensive Locations to Rent in England

#	Local Authority	Region	Monthly Rent (2 bed +)	% of Salary Spent on Rent
1	Westminster	London	£5,860	54.8%
2	Camden	London	£3,323	37.2%
3	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	£3,398	36.4%
4	Islington	London	£3,010	35.9%
5	Hounslow	London	£2,238	35.5%
6	Brighton and Hove UA	South East	£1,987	34.6%
7	Haringey	London	£2,391	34.5%
8	Oxford	South East	£1,933	33.5%
9	Southwark	London	£2,662	33.3%
10	Hackney	London	£2,714	33.1%

Our findings follow a similar pattern to the rankings for smaller properties, with local authorities in London occupying the majority of the list. Westminster tops the list as the most expensive location to rent in England. Despite a double income, couples would be forking out over half of their combined monthly salary to be able to afford a well-sized property with over two bedrooms.

Couples looking to rent in England may need to consider smaller properties, or properties with no more than two bedrooms in order to stick to the 30% rent rule.

Top 10 Most Affordable Locations to Rent in England

#	Local Authority	Region	Monthly Rent (2 bed +)	% of Salary Spent on Rent
1	Hyndburn	North West	£642	12.1%
–	Hartlepool	North East	£591	12.1%
3	North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	£671	12.3%
4	Burnley	North West	£630	12.4%
5	North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	£692	12.7%
6	Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	£756	12.8%
7	County Durham	North East	£655	12.9%
8	Stafford	West Midlands	£828	13.1%
9	Barnsley	Yorkshire and the Humber	£671	13.2%
10	West Lancashire	North West	£759	13.6%

The North West could be a popular choice for couples, in particular Hyndburn which once again comes out in joint first place. This Lancashire borough only requires 12.1% of a couple’s salary to rent a two or more bedroom property in.

Sharing the top position is the seaside town of Hartlepool in County Durham, followed by North Lincolnshire and Burnley.

The Cost of Renting For Graduates in London

#	Local Authority	Monthly Rent / Room Only	% of Salary Spent on Rent
1	Westminster	£967	36.9%
2	Kensington and Chelsea	£948	36.2%
3	Camden	£935	35.7%
4	Tower Hamlets	£869	33.2%
5	Southwark	£866	33.1%
6	Brent	£833	31.8%
7	Haringey	£826	31.5%
8	Hackney	£786	30%
–	Greenwich	£785	30%
10	Wandsworth	£780	29.8%
11	Redbridge	£771	29.4%
12	Merton	£765	29.2%
13	Islington	£759	29%
14	Newham	£751	28.7%
15	Lewisham	£744	28.4%
16	Ealing	£721	27.5%
17	Bromley	£704	26.9%
18	Hounslow	£703	26.8%
19	Harrow	£700	26.7%
20	Enfield	£691	26.4%
21	Havering	£689	26.3%
22	Hillingdon	£680	26%
23	Croydon	£652	24.9%
–	Waltham Forest	£651	24.9%
25	Kingston upon Thames	£650	24.8%
26	Barnet	£635	24.2%
27	Barking and Dagenham	£564	21.5%

For many graduates, the cost of living crisis leaves them little choice but to return home with their parents post graduation. Whilst others seek a room-only lease in shared accommodation to help keep costs down.

To take our study one step further, we compared the average starting salary of graduates in London with the cost of renting a room in 27 London boroughs. Despite a generous reported annual salary of £31,423 for those with significant studies, many boroughs are still on the cusp of the 30% rent rule.

Westminster ranks in first place as the most expensive London borough to rent a room in, and it’s only when you venture further out of inner London that rental prices drop.