SpareRoom Rental Index
Average rents are updated every quarter - last updated April 2025
UK rents rise 1% year-on-year
UK room rents have risen 1% year-on-year in Q1 2025 to £744 per month. London rents have fallen 1% year-on-year and now average £982 per month.
Five UK regions see no change in rent
East Midlands, North East, Scotland, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside saw 0% change in rent (YOY). However, overall, the UK saw an increase of 1% with the largest regional increase seen in Northern Ireland (5%).
| Region | Average monthly room rent | Annual change |
| East Anglia | £678 | 4% |
| East Midlands | £564 | 0% |
| North East | £546 | 0% |
| North West | £606 | 2% |
| Northern Ireland | £564 | 5% |
| Scotland | £675 | 0% |
| South East | £745 | 1% |
| South West | £666 | 2% |
| Wales | £583 | 1% |
| West Midlands | £563 | 0% |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | £557 | 0% |
| London | £982 | -1% |
| UK | £744 | 1% |
| UK (excl London) | £662 | 1% |
London rents decrease, compared to Q1 2024
The UK saw rents increase by 1% YOY, meanwhile London rents decreased overall by -1%. Every single London region fell or saw no change with East and East Central seeing the biggest decreases at -2% and -4% respectively.
| London regions | Average monthly room rent | Annual change |
| E | £949 | -2% |
| EC | £1,200 | -4% |
| N | £944 | -1% |
| NW | £990 | 0% |
| SE | £945 | 0% |
| SW | £1,036 | 0% |
| W | £1,035 | -2% |
| WC | £1,302 | 0% |
| London | £982 | -1% |
| UK | £744 | 1% |
| UK (excl London) | £662 | 1% |
London sees postcodes continue to decrease
EC2 (Bishopsgate / Cheapside) saw the highest YoY decrease (-12%), but SW postcodes featured in 4 out of the 10 largest decreases; SW1 (Westminster / Belgravia / Pimlico) at -9%, SW5 (Earl's Court / West Brompton) and SW14 (Mortlake) at -8%, respectively, and SW15 (Putney) at -4%.
The cheapest London postcodes are:
| London postcodes | Average monthly room rent |
| E6 (East Ham) | £775 |
| N9 (Lower Edmonton) | £778 |
| E12 (Manor Park) | £781 |
| E4 (Chingford) | £785 |
| SE2 (Abbey Wood) | £813 |
| E7 (Forest Gate) | £813 |
| SE25 (Norwood) | £814 |
| SE19 (Crystal Palace) | £820 |
| N11 (New Southgate) | £822 |
| E11 (Leytonstone) | £824 |
UK’s most expensive towns and cities
Blackpool saw the biggest YOY increase out of the 50 largest towns & cities (9%), followed by Southend-on-Sea (6%) and Ipswich (5%). 15 of the 50 towns and cities saw rents decrease with Birmingham seeing the largest drop (-4%). 5 of the 50 saw no change (0%) including Bristol, Sheffield, Manchester, Telford and Reading.
These are the most expensive places to rent in the UK, outside London:
| Town/City | Average monthly room rent |
| Kingston upon Thames | £926 |
| Twickenham | £914 |
| Barnet | £865 |
| Epsom | £839 |
| St. Albans | £838 |
| Oxford | £834 |
| Croydon | £829 |
| Harrow | £826 |
| Bromley | £814 |
| Enfield | £807 |
UK’s cheapest towns and cities
The cheapest area to rent outside of the capital in Q4 was Bootle, which held the top spot for the whole of 2024, and continues to into 2025.
These are the cheapest towns and cities to rent in the UK:
| Town/City | Average monthly room rent |
| Bootle | £462 |
| Bradford | £466 |
| Burnley | £468 |
| Grimsby | £473 |
| Middlesbrough | £473 |
| Blackburn | £480 |
| Huddersfield | £481 |
| Rotherham | £486 |
| Barnsley | £489 |
| Hartlepool | £492 |
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Methodology
SpareRoom’s Quarterly Rental Index data compares data from Q1 2025 with Q1 2024, based on 375,000+ UK room ads (inclusive of some bills) across both periods. Postcodes with a sample size of less than 25 were excluded. City sample size is 200+ room ads. London data covers E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W & WC postcodes.
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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: