SpareRoom Rental Index
Average rents are updated every quarter - last updated July 2025
UK rents show signs of stabilisation
UK room rents continued to show signs of stabilisation in Q2: UK rents rose 0.9% year on year to £748 per month and London rents now average £980, a YOY drop of 0.4%
Regional rents begin to stabilise
Rents in Wales (2.1%) and South West England (2%) have seen the highest year-on-year increases while Scotland (-0.9%) and North West England (-0.6%) have seen the biggest decreases.
| Region | Average monthly room rent | Annual change |
| East Anglia | £672 | 1.6% |
| East Midlands | £566 | 0.6% |
| North East | £551 | 0.6% |
| North West | £605 | -0.6% |
| Northern Ireland | £563 | 0.8% |
| Scotland | £691 | -0.9% |
| South East | £744 | 1.2% |
| South West | £668 | 2% |
| Wales | £592 | 2.1% |
| West Midlands | £582 | 0.4% |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | £565 | 0.6% |
| London | £980 | -0.4% |
| UK | £748 | 0.9% |
| UK (excl London) | £665 | 1.1% |
London rents are stable but high demand is preventing significant decreases
London room rents have fallen marginally 0.4% year on year and now average £980 per month, although average room rents are now above £1,000 per month in SW, W, WC and EC postcodes.
| London regions | Average monthly room rent | Annual change |
| E | £944 | -1.1% |
| EC | £1,214 | -0.9% |
| N | £945 | -0.4% |
| NW | £986 | 0.8% |
| SE | £953 | 0.4% |
| SW | £1,020 | 0.3% |
| W | £1,040 | 0% |
| WC | £1,282 | -2.9% |
| London | £980 | -0.4% |
| UK | £748 | 0.9% |
| UK (excl London) | £665 | 1.1% |
There are 2.4 people searching per room available to rent in London
Rents are flatlining rather than falling which is not helping renters who’ve long been struggling with the sky-high cost of living.
The biggest rent increases in the capital have been in NW – though still less than one percentage point – and NW5 (Kentish Town) has seen the highest rise of any postcode district, up 14% year on year.
| London postcodes | Average monthly room rent | Annual change |
| NW5 (Kentish Town) | £1,082 | 14.2% |
| SW7 (South Kensington) | £1,748 | 13.4% |
| SW13 (Barnes) | £1,010 | 11.9% |
| WC2 (Strand / Holborn) | £1,651 | 9.9% |
| SW10 (West Brompton / Chelsea | £1,285 | 9.8% |
| N20 (Totteridge / Whetstone) | £906 | 9.5% |
| N19 (Upper Holloway) | £998 | 9.4% |
| N10 (Muswell Hill) | £995 | 8.4% |
| SE12 (Lee) | £827 | 7.8% |
| SW20 (South and West Wimbledon / Raynes Park) | £918 | 7.4% |
UK’s most expensive towns and cities
At £951 per month, Twickenham is still the most expensive place to rent outside London, and it’s also in huge demand. In Q2, 8.3 people were searching per room available to rent in this suburban town.
These are the most expensive places to rent in the UK, outside London:
| Town/City | Average monthly room rent |
| Twickenham | £951 |
| Kingston upon Thames | £903 |
| Barnet | £899 |
| Enfield | £830 |
| Harrow | £829 |
| Bromley | £825 |
| Edinburgh | £823 |
| Croydon | £818 |
| Oxford | £813 |
| Redhill | £812 |
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 | £456 |
| Bradford | £460 |
| Burnley | £464 |
| Middlesbrough | £469 |
| Blackburn | £476 |
| Grimsby | £481 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | £482 |
| Huddersfield | £490 |
| Barnsley | £491 |
| Darlington | £495 |
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Methodology
SpareRoom’s Quarterly Rental Index data compares data from Q2 2025 with Q2 2024, based on 375,000+ UK room ads (inclusive of 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: