The cost of renting a room in the UK right now
Key Points
- Renting a room in the UK costs an average of £761 per month as of Q2 2026, according to SpareRoom's rental index.
- Rents hit record highs in six of nine UK regions, with East Anglia up 9.9% over three years.
- Greater London was the only region to see rents fall, down 0.2%, while flatshare supply dropped 3.2% year on year, the first decline in three years.
Renting a room in the UK now costs £761 per month on average, according to new data from flatshare site SpareRoom, with rents hitting record highs in six of the country’s nine regions in the second quarter of 2026.
The figure represents a 0.5% increase on the previous year. Across the UK as a whole, room rents have risen almost 7% over the past three years.
The data comes from SpareRoom’s improved rental index, which launched today with an updated methodology. It is based on almost 240,000 UK room ads, with rents inclusive of bills and based on asking prices.
South West England recorded the largest year-on-year increase at 1.6%, while East Anglia has seen the biggest three-year rise, with rents up 9.9% since Q2 2023.
Greater London is the only region where rents fell year on year, down 0.2% to £915 per month. Despite the dip, the capital remains the most expensive place in the UK to rent a room, with Inner London averaging £979.
Rents also hit record highs in Wales and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has seen the steepest growth of any UK country, with rents up 12% in three years and 3.8% year on year. Belfast reached a record £600 per month in Q2.
The table below shows average monthly room rents by region:
| Region | Q2 2026 | 1-year change | 3-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Anglia | £684 | 1.5% | 9.9% |
| East Midlands | £568 | 0.5% | 4.6% |
| Greater London | £915 | -0.2% | 1.8% |
| North East England | £552 | 0.0% | 6.3% |
| North West England | £614 | 1.2% | 8.6% |
| South East England | £703 | 1.5% | 9.5% |
| South West England | £678 | 1.6% | 9.4% |
| West Midlands | £587 | 0.9% | 6.3% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £569 | 0.1% | 5.1% |
| Whole of UK | £761 | 0.5% | 6.7% |
Among the 30 UK cities with the highest flatshare supply, Norwich saw the biggest annual increase at 5.1%, followed by Exeter (4.9%) and Liverpool (4.4%). Lincoln recorded the largest fall, with rents down 4%.
London (£979), Edinburgh (£834) and Oxford (£814) have the most expensive rooms, while Lincoln (£510), Swansea (£532) and Sheffield (£533) are the cheapest.
The rise in rents comes as flatshare supply falls for the first time in three years. Room ads decreased 3.2% in the year to Q2 2026, the same quarter the main reforms of the Renters’ Rights Act came into effect. This follows annual supply growth of 8.7% in 2025 and 24.2% in 2024.
Matt Hutchinson, director at SpareRoom, said rising rents across the country have to be addressed.
“The Renters’ Rights Act will improve standards, but it’s only half the job. The next, crucial, step is to tackle affordability. You can’t solve the housing crisis through regulation alone,” he said.
“Unless real action is taken to protect and expand rental supply, tenants will continue to face higher rents, shrinking choice, and even greater pressure in what is an already-stretched market. Flatsharing is the cheapest way to rent but the data shows it’s far from immune to market pressures.”
