Average UK Rent 2026: ONS Price Index Breakdown

The detail

The ONS Price Index of Private Rents put the average UK monthly private rent at £1,400 in August 2026, £52 (3.8%) higher than a year earlier. The annual rate rose from 3.7% in July and was the highest since December 2025, mainly because of faster rent growth in London. The latest two months are provisional and will be revised.

By country: England £1,459 (+4.0%), Wales £846 (+4.3%) and Scotland £1,013 (+1.1%) in August 2026, and Northern Ireland £874 (+1.6%) in June 2026, its lowest annual rate in nine years. ONS advises caution comparing Scotland and Northern Ireland with the rest of the UK, because their data are mainly or entirely advertised new lets.

Within England, annual rent inflation was highest in the North East and North West (both 5.8%) and lowest in the South East (3.0%), which replaced London as the slowest-growing region in July. London's rate rose to 3.5%. Average rent was highest in London (£2,332) and lowest in the North East (£788).

Local extremes: Kensington and Chelsea was the most expensive area at £3,690 a month and Dumfries and Galloway the cheapest at £558, more than six times apart. Outside London, Oxford was highest at £1,963. By property type, detached homes averaged £1,589 and flats and maisonettes £1,367; by size, four-or-more-bedroom homes averaged £2,080 and one-bedroom homes £1,136.