UK room rents stable, but rising in Wolverhampton, Southend and York

• 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%
• Of the UK top 50 largest towns and cities, Wolverhampton (6.1%), Southend-on-Sea (5.8%) and York (5.5%) have seen the biggest increases in rents while the biggest fallers are Bradford (-3.9%), Manchester (-3.7%) and Stoke-on-Trent (-3.3%).
• Of the UK's top 250 towns and cities, three West Midlands towns have seen the biggest YOY rent increases: Cannock (20.7%), Stourbridge (17.2%) and Kidderminster (15.7%).
• Regionally, Wales (2.1%) and SW England (2%) have seen the highest rent increases.

New data from SpareRoom's Rental Index reveals UK and London room rents continued to show signs of stabilisation in Q2. UK room rents rose by less than one percentage point year on year to £748 per month and London rents saw a 0.4% drop to £980 per month.

Bucking that trend are three towns in the West Midlands - Cannock, Stourbridge and Kidderminster - which have seen the largest rent increases in the UK's top 250 towns and cities. Kidderminster is seeing some of the highest demand for rooms in the UK with 8.8 people searching for every room available. The biggest falls, meanwhile, have been in coastal towns Great Yarmouth (-19.1%) and Kirkcaldy (-18.3%), and market town Halesowen (-11.4%).

Of the UK top 50 largest towns and cities, renters in Wolverhampton (6.1%), Southend-on-Sea (5.8%) and York (5.5%) have seen the steepest increases. But it's a different story in Bradford (-3.9%), Manchester (-3.7%) and Stoke-on-Trent (-3.3%) - the three biggest fallers in Q2.*

Regionally, 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.

Having peaked at a record high of £1,014 per month in Q4 2023, rents in London are now averaging £980 per month. Although this is 0.4% lower than this time a year ago, falling doesn't mean they're affordable. Compare London average rents today to five years ago, and they're 26% more expensive.

Although, regionally, room rents continue to show signs of stabilisation, the supply-demand imbalance is halting any significant decreases that would make rents affordable. UK renters spending more than half their take-home pay on rent has increased from 24% in 2021 to 26% in 2025. And three quarters now spend more than 30% of their income on rent, according to a March 2025 survey of flatsharers.

Looking at the UK's most expensive towns and cities to rent, Epsom and St Albans have dropped out of the top 10 from Q1 to be replaced in Q2 by Edinburgh and Redhill. 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.

Matt Hutchinson, director at flatshare site SpareRoom, comments: “Rents are stabilising, but squeezed renters aren't feeling anything close to relief. For people to be able to rent in their first choice areas, and maintain flexibility in the workforce, we need to see rents fall significantly. But, as long as high demand and limited supply are the status quo, we won't see rents drop to levels that people would find genuinely affordable.”

This table shows UK average room rents by region with their YOY changes:

This table shows the UK's most/least expensive towns/cities (not including London):

Of the 250 largest towns and cities in the UK, this table shows the 20 with the biggest YOY rent increases: