London

  • Average rents in London rose £42 (2.80%) in the quarter from £1,499 to £1,541. This is the largest quarterly increase across the whole country. The UK average growth increased this quarter by £14 (1.57%) including London, but only £10 (1.29%) when excluding London.
  • For the first time in 2022, Outer London recorded higher quarterly growth than Inner London. Outer London rents rose £53 (3.91%) to £1,408 compared to inner London, up £32 (1.99%) to £1,643.
  • Year-on-year, average London rents rose £160 from £1,381 to £1,541 (11.59%). Inner London leads the way and shows the largest yearly change across all regions, up £186 (12.77%) to £1,643. Outer London rents also rose sharply, up £129 (10.09%) to £1,408.
  • Looking at property types, semi-detached homes registered the largest growth in average rents across the whole country, both quarterly rising £59 (3.14%) to £1,936, and yearly, up £207 (11.97%). Rents for detached properties, which saw the largest increase last quarter, have slowed, showing the smallest quarterly increase in the region, up £2 (0.10%) to £2,100. Flats have continued to increase in Q4, rising £42 (2.78%) to £1,555.
  • London (Inner & Outer) remains the most expensive area to rent in the UK, followed by Surrey, Wokingham, and Windsor & Maidenhead, all counties located in the South. Inner London is also the least affordable place, meaning that on average a person living there spends 47.46% of their wage on rent.
  • Average salaries in London remain at £41,886, meaning that Londoners typically spend 44.51% of their monthly income on rent.

South East

  • Average rents in the South East stand at £1,014, a £9 (-0.88%) decline on last quarter. This is the first time a fall in rents has been recorded for this region in the past 2 years.
  • Despite this, the South East remains the second most expensive region for rents after London, with 3 counties in particular (Surrey, Wokingham and Windsor & Maidenhead) being among the top 5 most expensive and least affordable areas in the UK.
  • Terraced properties experienced the greatest rental growth, rising by £6 (0.52%) to £1,151, whilst detached properties fell £6 (-0.37%) to £1,610. This is the second largest regional fall after Wales.
  • Flats also recorded a fall of £16 (-1.75%) to £896, the second biggest fall for any region.
  • With an average annual income of £34.431 in the region, tenants in the South East on average spend 35.61% of their income on rent.

South West

  • Average rents in the South West grew £12 (1.36%) to £894. Year-on-year, they increased £60 (7.19%).
  • Rents for detached properties in the region rose £19 (1.46%) to £1,321. Flats saw one of the smallest rises across all of the UK, up only £8 (1.02%) to £789.
  • After increasing for 2 consecutive quarters, rents in the county of Bath & North East Somerset dropped by -£23 (-1.94%) to £1,165.
  • With average salaries standing at £31,339, those in the South West can typically expect to spend 34.50% of monthly income on rent, higher than the national average of 33.09%.

East

  • Average rents in the East saw a quarterly increase of £8 (0.85%) to £945, the third smallest increase this quarter after East Midlands and Northern Ireland. Despite this, the East remains the 3rd most expensive region after London and the South East. 
  • Semi-detached properties show the largest rise, up £14 (1.27%) to £1,116, whilst average rents for flats fell £13 (-1.50%), one of the largest declines recorded this quarter, the opposite of the previous quarter where flats in the region saw one of the largest percentage rises.
  • Though all counties in the East saw growth in Q3 2022, Q4 saw falls in average rents for Cambridgeshire, down £45 (-4.89%) to £875, Suffolk, down £13 (-1.46%) to £875 and Norfolk which fell £4 (-0.50%) to £794.
  • With salaries averaging £32,539, tenants in the region spend on average 35.12% of their monthly income on rent.

East Midlands

  • Average rents in East Midlands saw a moderate rise of £6 (0.88%) to £685, the smallest recorded rise this quarter, along with Northern Ireland. Year-on-year, rents rose £45 (7.03%), against the UK average of £69 (8.27%).
  • After declining last quarter, rents for terraced properties have grown £21 (3.08%) to £702, one of the largest rises across all regions. Average rents for flats and detached properties, which increased in Q3, fell by £1 (-0.17%) and £2 (-0.19%) respectively.
  • On average, salaries stand at £30,326 in the East Midlands, meaning that 27.32% of income is typically spent on rent within the region.

West Midlands

  • After a slight fall last quarter, average rents in the West Midlands saw the largest increase across all regions in percentage points this quarter and the second biggest rise after London in monetary terms, up £38 (5.39%) to £743. Year-on-year average rents in the region increased £58 (8.47%).
  • Rents for Flats increased £37 (5.75%) to £681, after falling the previous quarter. This is the second largest quarterly rise after Wales.
  • West Midlands, up £51 (7.05%) to £774, Warwickshire, up £27 (3.39%) to £823 and Stoke-on-Trent, rising £25 (4.61%) were the areas with the highest increases in the region.
  • Average salaries are at £31,601 in the West Midlands, and those in the region typically spend 28.43% on rent.

Yorkshire

  • Rents continue to rise this quarter, up £10 (1.66%) to £614. Yearly, rents increased £32 (5.50%).
  • Semi-detached properties saw average rents increase £31 (4.25%) this quarter to £760. Rents for flats fell £21 (-3.70%) to £546, whilst detached properties saw a fall of £3 (-0.30%) to £993, having seen the biggest growth in Q3. The fall in average rental value for flats is the largest across the UK. Yorkshire is also the only area where flats show a yearly decline, down £28 (-4.88%).
  • After registering growth during the last quarter, average rents in York, South Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire have now declined by £54 (-6.53%), £39 (-6.66%) and £25 (-4.63%) respectively.
  • Yorkshire remains one of the cheapest regions for rent. Two areas in the region, the City of Kingston upon Hull and North East Lincolnshire, remain in the top 5 least expensive counties to live in, with average rents of £518 and £515 respectively.
  • Those in Yorkshire spend the second lowest proportion of their income on rent after Northern Ireland. Average salaries in the region stand at £30,000, meaning that 24.75% of their income is typically spent on rent.

North West

  • Average rents in the North West continue to rise, up £11 (1.59%) to £703.
  • Semi-detached properties show the highest growth this quarter, up £18 (2.15%) to £855. Rents for terraced properties fell slightly by £3 (-0.44%) to £684, having risen sharply in the previous quarter. 
  • Within the region, rents in Greater Manchester registered no change from last quarter, after growing for 3 consecutive quarters. Cheshire West & Chester, rising £20 (2.62%) to £782, and Cheshire East, up £17 (2.22%) to £784, are the two areas with the largest increases.
  • On average, salaries stand at £30,716 in the North West, and those in the region typically spend 27.68% of their annual income on rent, below the national average of 33.09%.

North East

  • Average rents in the North East grew this quarter, up £22 (3.76%) to £607.
  • The North East is the region with the lowest rents in the UK for the 2nd consecutive quarter, followed by Northern Ireland (£612) and Yorkshire (£614).
  • Detached homes show the largest rent increase for this property type, both in the region and across the UK, up £55 (6.39%) to £916, well above the UK average quarterly rise for detached properties of £16 (1.32%).
  • After those in Yorkshire and in Northern Ireland, those in North East spend the third lowest proportion of their income on rent when compared to the rest of the UK. Average salaries in the region stand at £29,521, meaning that 24.87% of their income is typically spent on rent.

Scotland

  • Average rents in Scotland grew £15 (2.08%) to £736. Annually, Scotland has seen the second highest rise in rent value behind London and the highest in terms of percentage, up £79 (12.02%).
  • Detached properties saw a rise in average rents of £26 (2.95%) to £907 in the quarter. Semi-detached saw a similar increase of £25 (3.29%). Rent for flats decreased by £4 (-0.55%) to £721 and terraced properties, after a strong performance last quarter fell slightly, down £1 (-0.14%) to £725.
  • Dumfries and Galloway remains one of the least expensive counties in the UK (£545) together with South Ayrshire (£525), which is also the 2nd most affordable county to live in, after Gwynedd in Wales (£464).
  • This quarter, average rents declined in the two main cities of Glasgow, down £163 (-20.50%) to £632, and Edinburgh, falling £67 (6.27%) to £1,001.
  • With salaries averaging £33,332 in Scotland, those in the region can expect to spend 26.70% of their monthly income on rent.

Wales

  • Rents in Wales rose £10 (1.49%) to £679. Year-on-year, they increased £38 (5.93%).
  • Average rents for flats show the largest growth across all regions, up £53 (9.09%) to £636. Rents for detached properties saw the largest fall, down £8 (-0.88%). Terraced properties saw the largest reduction in average rents across the country, moving from, down £19 (-2.66%) to £694.
  • Gwynedd, in Wales, is the least expensive and most affordable county in the UK, with an average rent of £464.
  • After falling in the previous quarter, rents in Cardiff have risen, up £113 (15.63%) to £836.
  • With average salaries at £30,596 in Wales, those in the region typically spend 26.84% of their monthly income on rent.

Northern Ireland

  • Average rents in Northern Ireland rose slightly, up £6 (0.99%) to £612.
  • This is now the second cheapest region to rent, after the North East.
  • With salaries averaging at £30,000 in Northern Ireland, those in the region can typically expect to spend 24.67% of their income on rent. This is the smallest proportion of income spent on rent across all the UK.

 

NOTES:

Please note that quarterly inflation is provisional.
Wages are based on 2018 as a full year.