Table of Contents
- The cheapest cities to rent in the UK
- The UK cities with the most affordable rent (and least)
- The cheapest rent by region & country
- The very lowest rents in the UK
- Are rents falling?
- The highest rents in the UK
- The cheapest areas to rent in London
- Is it better to rent a house or buy?
- What do experts think about the rental market?
- UK rental market forecasts
- Cheapest UK Rent FAQs
Finding a place to live in the UK can be challenging. Buyers will always have an eye on mortgage rates and house prices, while tenants can usually do little but watch as rents continue to rise. However, some parts of the UK are cheaper to rent than others.
The cheapest cities to rent in the UK
The major city with the cheapest rent in the UK is Kingston upon Hull, with the average tenant paying £630 a month in January 2025. The next cheapest city for renters is Stoke-on-Trent, at £646 per month, followed by Bradford, at £698 a month.
| Annual change | Average rent (per month) | |
|---|---|---|
| Kingston upon Hull | +10.1% | £630 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | +10.6% | £646 |
| Bradford | +7.0% | £698 |
| Derby | +11.7% | £813 |
| Liverpool | +9.8% | £826 |
| Wolverhampton | +10.3% | £826 |
| Sheffield | +6.4% | £873 |
| Plymouth | +7.1% | £930 |
| Nottingham | +7.7% | £947 |
| Leicester | +10.2% | £970 |
| Coventry | +8.3% | £987 |
| Northampton | +8.1% | £1,017 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | +6.6% | £1,030 |
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS). Private rent and house prices, UK: February 2025. The ONS classifies a city as being major if it has a population of at least 200,000. Luton, Northampton and Reading are designated as towns but may feature due to having populations above 200,000. ONS does not have data for Belfast.
The UK cities with the most affordable rent (and least)
Bradford is the major UK city where rent is most affordable to the average local salary. On average, tenants in Bradford spend just over a quarter (25.8%) of their wages on rent each month. Bristol is the least affordable place to rent, with a typical tenant spending well over half (57.5%) of their monthly salary on rent.
The cheapest rent by region & country
The cheapest region to rent in the UK is the North East, where the average rent cost £710 per month in January 2025. Yorkshire & the Humber has the next lowest rents at £809 per month, followed by the East Midlands at £861.
In Great Britain, Wales has the lowest average rent at £780 per month. The average rent in England is £1,375 per month, and in Scotland it is £995 per month.
The very lowest rents in the UK
The place in the UK with the cheapest rent away from the major cities is Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, where average rent is £513 per month. Hartlepool has the next lowest rents at £537 per month, followed by Powys in Wales at £558.
Are rents falling?
Average rents in the UK were 8.7% higher than a year earlier in January 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics. This is slightly down compared with the 9.0% year-on-year increase recorded in December. In England, rents are 8.8% higher compared with a year ago, in Wales they are 8.4% higher, and in Scotland they are 6.2% higher.
In England, rents are rising fastest in London, and are 11.0% higher than a year ago. The next biggest annual increase is in the North West at 9.7%. Rents are rising slowest in Yorkshire and the Humber, at 5.3%.
The highest rents in the UK
The city with the highest rents in the UK is London, where the average monthly rent was £2,227 in January 2025. Of the major cities outside the capital, Brighton and Hove has the highest rent at £1,790 per month, followed by Bristol at £1,756 per month.
| Annual change | Average rent (per month) | |
|---|---|---|
| London | +11.0% | £2,227 |
| Brighton and Hove | +4.9% | £1,790 |
| Bristol | +2.3% | £1,756 |
| Reading | +12.1% | £1,524 |
| Lothian (Edinburgh) | +11.0% | £1,414 |
| Portsmouth | +6.1% | £1,313 |
| Manchester | +11.1% | £1,300 |
| Greater Glasgow | +0.9% | £1,202 |
| Southampton | +8.1% | £1,192 |
| Luton | +11.3% | £1,161 |
| Norwich | +9.5% | £1,102 |
| Leeds | +2.5% | £1,095 |
| Cardiff | +8.7% | £1,084 |
| Birmingham | +8.4% | £1,043 |
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS). Private rent and house prices, UK: February 2025. The ONS classifies a city as being major if it has a population of at least 200,000. Luton, Northampton and Reading are designated as towns but may feature due to having populations above 200,000. ONS does not have data for Belfast.
The cheapest areas to rent in London
London is the city with the highest average rent in the UK. However, there are significant differences between rents depending on where in the capital you live.
The cheapest rent in London in January 2025 was in Bexley, costing renters on average £1,411 per month. The next cheapest London rent was in Havering (£1,456), Croydon (£1,485), and Sutton (£1,501). The highest rent in London is in Kensington and Chelsea, at £3,615 per month.
| Annual change | Average rent (per month) | |
|---|---|---|
| Bexley | +10.3% | £1,411 |
| Havering | +10.9% | £1,456 |
| Croydon | +9.3% | £1,485 |
| Sutton | +11.8% | £1,501 |
| Hillingdon | +10.2% | £1,507 |
| Barking and Dagenham | +10.2% | £1,523 |
| Bromley | +7.0% | £1,599 |
| Redbridge | +11.7% | £1,640 |
| Enfield | +11.2% | £1,673 |
| Harrow | +9.8% | £1,695 |
| Waltham Forest | +10.0% | £1,700 |
| Kingston upon Thames | +5.7% | £1,728 |
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS). Private rent and house prices, UK: February 2025.
Is it better to rent a house or buy?
Whether renting or buying is right for you will depend on your circumstances and goals. Your financial situation and how long you plan on living in a certain area are usually a couple of key factors to consider.
Renting may give you more freedom to move, and may allow you to live in an area where you cannot afford to buy. However, you might not be allowed to make changes or redecorate the home as you would like because the property isn’t yours. Renting can also take a significant chunk out of your income making it harder to save a deposit if you want to buy eventually.
On the other hand, buying a home means the money you pay into a mortgage is benefitting you, instead of going to a landlord. However, the upfront costs of buying, particularly saving a deposit if you’re a first-time buyer, tend to be higher than if you rent. You’ll need to prove to a lender you can afford a mortgage to buy too.
» MORE: See current mortgage rates
What do experts think about the rental market?
Andrew Montlake, Managing Director at Coreco
“Though rents have dipped slightly, they’re still sky high. This may get worse as amateur landlords exit the rental sector, which is what we’re seeing more of. High rents, especially in the capital, are preventing tenants from getting onto the property ladder, as they struggle to save for a decent deposit. Meanwhile, due to the lack of supply, house prices continue to edge up, putting the dream of homeownership further out of reach for many. Mortgage rates have come down over the past week or so since the base rate cut but we need to see more competitive rates at higher loan-to-values to help those who need it most. The January inflation data is another stick in the spokes for borrowers, as it may mean rate cuts in March are delayed and only materialise later in the year. We have also still to see the full impact of the Budget, which has the potential to trigger lay-offs and job uncertainty, which may impact demand.”
Alex Upton, Managing Director – Specialist Mortgages & Bridging, Hampshire Trust Bank
“The rental market remains under significant pressure, with demand continuing to outstrip supply. Letting agents are managing multiple applicants for every available property, and while stock levels have seen some movement, competition remains fierce. Until supply and demand move closer to balance, rental prices will keep climbing. But addressing this isn’t just about building more homes. The greater opportunity right now is in making better use of existing housing stock. Investors are focusing on refurbishment and conversion – revitalising underused properties and bringing them back into the rental market. This isn’t just a short-term fix; it’s an essential part of increasing supply in a meaningful way.”
Ben Perks, Managing Director at Orchard Financial Advisers
“High rents are concerning and leave tenants trapped in a vicious cycle of working to pay rent and unable to save for deposits. While landlords are persecuted and regulations make buy-to-let margins tighter and tighter, rents will continue to rise. Rather than chastising landlords, help them. The government needs to change their stance on this and help landlords a little. If they had access to cheaper lending and taxation, the result would be fairer rents and everyone wins.”
» MORE: What happened in the Autumn Budget 2024?
UK rental market forecasts
It is widely predicted that rents in the UK will continue to rise in 2025 and subsequent years. The forecasts below are from real estate advisors CBRE and JLL, and estate agents Savills.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | |
| CBRE | +2.3% | +2.5% | +2.9% |
| JLL | +3.0% | +2.5% | +3.0% |
| Savills | +4.0% | +3.5% | +3.0% |
Cheapest UK Rent FAQs
Rent is cheapest in the North East at £710 per month in January 2025. The next cheapest rent in the UK is in Wales (£780), Yorkshire and the Humber (£809), and the East Midlands (£861). Rents in London (£2,227) and the South East (£1,356) are the most expensive.
The average cost of rent in the UK is £1,270 per month, according to Zoopla. Across the UK, it means average rents are 3.9% higher than a year ago.
There are no formal affordability rules for rent in the UK, but as a rough guide, some landlords like tenants to be earning at least 2.5 times the rent being charged. So for a property with a monthly rent of £1,000, ideally you would have a gross annual income of £30,000.
Renting means you avoid paying the upfront costs of buying, such as a deposit, stamp duty and mortgage and legal fees. However, as a renter, you can expect to pay a tenancy deposit, rent in advance, and potentially a holding deposit. According to Halifax, the monthly cost to a first-time buyer of owning a home is £1,231, slightly lower than the £1,258 it would cost to rent an equivalent property. However, this can differ depending on where you want to live.
The average cost of renting a flat in Great Britain was £1,302 in January 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Generally, rent is considered to be affordable if it accounts for 30% or less of your pre-tax income.
Image source: Getty Images
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