Renters' monthly budgets not enough to keep up with rising rent costs

• New data from SpareRoom shows the stark difference between what renters budget every month for rent vs the actual cost of their rent*
• Of 216 towns and cities around the UK, 71% of renters pay more than what they budget for rent each month
• The biggest disparity between monthly budgets and actual rental costs were seen in Central London and Edinburgh, where the cost of renting is up to £344 more than monthly budgets
• Those who are quids-in each month live in Dewsbury, Newtonabbey and Livingstone – all paying £60 a month less than their maximum rental budget

New data from the UK’s leading flatshare site, SpareRoom, has analysed rental budgets vs actual rental costs in 2024, revealing that the average renter in the UK is having to find an additional £312 a year to cover rent that exceeds their budget.

Of 216 towns and cities analysed around the UK, renters in only 63 areas pay rent that falls within their allocated budget, whilst tenants in 153 areas go over their set budget every single month to be able to afford their rent.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest disparity seen between allocated budget and actual rental costs was in London, with West Central London seeing renters spending £344 a month more than they’d budgeted when looking for a flat, followed by £245 more in East Central London.

Outside of London, Edinburgh sees tenants paying £145 over their ideal budget, with renters going £122 over in Great Yarmouth and £121 in Kirkcaldy.

Looking at the other end of the scale, people living in Dewsbury spend £75 less than budgeted on rent every month, followed by Newtownabbey (£65), Livingston (£62) and Littlehampton (£59).

Liverpool (£525), Preston (£496), Leamington Spa (£629) and Blackburn (£498) are the only towns and cities in the UK where the budget set aside for rent every month is exactly the same as the rental costs themselves.

Taking SpareRoom data from the past five years, the average renter’s monthly budget for rent has increased by 32% whilst actual average rent has increased by 37%. Those who have upped their budgets the most in the past five years are based in Wales and Northern Ireland (Bangor +60%, Lisburn +59%, Craigavon +58%), whilst those who have increased their rental budgets the least reside in Aberdeen (+10%), Falkirk (+18%) and Watford (+19%).

Matt Hutchinson, Director at SpareRoom commented:“We tend to look to average rents to see how the market is performing, but that only tells half the story. It doesn't tell us how genuinely affordable those rents are. This data reveals that in a staggering 71% of towns and cities around the UK, rent has increased to the extent that prices are higher than renters’ budgets. That means renters are being ever more squeezed, at a time when the cost of living is hard enough already.

That's why, although rent caps are a good idea in principle, they're really a case of bolting the stable door after the horse has long gone. We need renting to be genuinely affordable, otherwise people end up trapped and unwilling to move. The knock-on effect for the economy of having an inflexible, rent-burdened workforce will be huge."