SpareRoom Rental Index
Average rents are updated every quarter - last updated January 2026
UK rents stable but still unaffordable
Renting a room in the UK now (Q4 2025) costs £749 per month on average. While UK average rents have continued to stabilise - up 0.5% year on year, with London seeing a marginal drop of -0.9% - the matter of affordability is still an ongoing issue. With the steepest rent increases seen largely in towns and smaller cities, it indicates that the high cost of living is pushing people into traditionally more affordable areas and away from major cities.
South west England sees biggest YoY change
Regionally, south west England saw the biggest year-on-year change (1.7%), followed by east Midlands, west Midlands and east Anglia, tying with a 0.6% increase. Northern Ireland saw the largest decrease at -1.5%.
Average rents across the UK and how they’ve changed:
| Region | Average monthly room rent | Annual change |
| East Anglia | £674 | 0.6% |
| East Midlands | £568 | 0.6% |
| North East | £555 | 0.4% |
| North West | £613 | 0.5% |
| Northern Ireland | £561 | -1.5% |
| Scotland | £681 | -0.2% |
| South East | £748 | 0.5% |
| South West | £677 | 1.7% |
| Wales | £589 | 0.2% |
| West Midlands | £590 | 0.6% |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | £557 | 0% |
| London | £985 | -0.9% |
| UK | £749 | 0.5% |
| UK (excl London) | £670 | 0.9% |
London rents still above affordability for many
London had an average room rent of £985 per month in Q4 2025, showing a marginal year-on-year decrease of 0.9%.
Despite being one of the cheapest postcode areas, south east (SE) London - where the average rent is £958 per month - saw the highest year-on-year average rent increase (+1.2%).
Average rents across London regions and how they’ve changed:
| London regions | Average monthly room rent | Annual change |
| E | £949 | -0.9% |
| EC | £1,212 | -2.9% |
| N | £949 | -1.3% |
| NW | £985 | -3% |
| SE | £958 | 1.2% |
| SW | £1,028 | -0.9% |
| W | £1,054 | 0.1% |
| WC | £1,320 | 0.1% |
| London | £985 | -0.9% |
| UK | £749 | 0.5% |
| UK (excl London) | £670 | 0.9% |
One of London’s cheapest postcode areas saw some of the largest YoY increases
Half of the biggest YoY rises were seen in south east London. However, with the exception of SW10 (West Brompton / Chelsea) and E20 (Olympic Park), all the following postcodes still have below-average rents for London (£985).
London postcodes that have seen the biggest rent increases:
| London postcodes | Average monthly room rent | Annual change |
| SW13 (Barnes) | £970 | 14% |
| NW7 (Mill Hill) | £926 | 13% |
| SE22 (Dulwich) | £976 | 10% |
| SE2 (Abbey Wood) | £814 | 7% |
| SE3 (Blackheath) | £961 | 7% |
| SW10 (West Brompton / Chelsea) | £1,335 | 7% |
| E18 (South Woodford) | £838 | 6% |
| SE13 (Lewisham) | £948 | 6% |
| E20 (Olympic Park) | £1,290 | 6% |
| SE26 (Sydenham) | £902 | 5% |
Traditionally affordable areas of the UK see some of the largest rent increases
Merseyside town Bootle has long been the cheapest place to rent in the UK, but it has been knocked off its spot by Lancashire town Burnley (£470), after it saw the highest year-on-year rise nationwide. Renting a room in Bootle now costs £527 per month on average, 18% more than Q4 2024. It no longer features in the top 10 cheapest places to rent a room in the UK.
Most popular towns and cities that have seen the biggest rent increases YoY:
| Towns/Cities | Average monthly room rent | YoY change |
| Bootle | £527 | 18.0% |
| Stourbridge | £649 | 17.7% |
| Keighley | £598 | 14.0% |
| Widnes | £590 | 12.8% |
| Carlisle | £586 | 10.1% |
| Wolverhampton | £553 | 9.6% |
| Nuneaton | £560 | 9.3% |
| Dorchester | £645 | 8.8% |
| Taunton | £679 | 8.7% |
| Chesterfield | £553 | 8.3% |
UK’s cheapest towns and cities
These are the cheapest towns and cities to rent in the UK (outside of London):
| Town/City | Average monthly room rent |
| Burnley | £470 |
| Bradford | £472 |
| Middlesbrough | £477 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | £482 |
| Huddersfield | £485 |
| Blackburn | £485 |
| Craigavon | £490 |
| Rotherham | £492 |
| Barnsley | £492 |
| Darlington | £493 |
UK’s most expensive towns and cities
These are the most expensive towns and cities to rent in the UK (outside of London):
| Town/City | Average monthly room rent |
| Kingston upon Thames | £922 |
| Twickenham | £914 |
| Barnet | £853 |
| Bath | £832 |
| Oxford | £831 |
| Croydon | £823 |
| Harrow | £821 |
| Enfield | £820 |
| Redhill | £818 |
| Benfleet | £815 |
===
Methodology
SpareRoom’s Quarterly Rental Index data compares data from Q4 2025 with Q4 2024, based on 370,000+ UK room ads (inclusive of bills) across both periods. Towns/cities/postcodes with a sample size of less than 25 were excluded. To be included in the most popular highest riser towns and cities table, locations had an ad sample size of 30+. London data covers E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W & WC postcodes.
Every quarter we analyse 100s of 1,000s of room rents for the SpareRoom rental index. Giving you average rents and rent increases and declines across London and the UK.