Room rents hit a record £769 a month in the UK
Key Points
- Average UK room rent hit a record £769 a month in Q3 2026
- Rents reached record highs in seven of the UK's nine regions
- Room supply fell 4.7%, ending a three-year growth run
- Belfast and Exeter saw the biggest city rent rises, Swansea the biggest fall
- SpareRoom blamed the Renters' Rights Act and council HMO crackdowns
The average UK room rent hit a record £769 a month in the third quarter of 2026, according to flatshare site SpareRoom.
SpareRoom’s latest rental index showed room rents reached record highs in seven of the UK’s nine regions, while the supply of rooms to rent fell 4.7% year on year.
The fall in supply ended a three-year growth run and followed the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act in England in May.
South West England recorded the biggest regional rise, with average room rents climbing 2.3% to £689 a month. Rents hit record levels in every region except Greater London and North East England.
The table below shows average monthly room rents by region in Q3 2026.
| Region | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| South West England | £689 | £673 | 2.3% |
| East Midlands | £576 | £566 | 1.8% |
| East Anglia | £687 | £679 | 1.2% |
| South East England | £709 | £701 | 1.2% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £569 | £564 | 1.0% |
| West Midlands | £594 | £590 | 0.6% |
| Greater London | £932 | £926 | 0.6% |
| North West England | £618 | £614 | 0.6% |
| North East England | £554 | £554 | -0.1% |
| Whole of UK | £769 | £762 | 1.0% |
Northern Ireland posted the largest rise by country, with average room rents jumping 7% to £600 a month. Rents in England rose 1.0% to a record £775, Scotland climbed 1.1% to a record £726 and Wales increased 0.9% to £593.
Among the 30 UK cities with the most flatshare supply, Belfast recorded the biggest annual rise at 6.8%, taking the average room rent to £624.
Exeter followed with a 4.5% increase to £681 a month. A shortage of on-campus accommodation in the city drove demand for flatshare rooms up 79% year on year, the highest of any UK city.
The average room rent in inner London now stands at £1,002 a month, up 1.1% on a year earlier.
The table below shows the UK cities with the biggest year-on-year room rent rises.
| City | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £624 | £585 | 6.8% |
| Exeter | £681 | £651 | 4.5% |
| Derby | £594 | £577 | 2.9% |
| Edinburgh | £894 | £871 | 2.7% |
| Coventry | £571 | £556 | 2.7% |
Room rents fell in nine of the 30 cities SpareRoom tracked. The table below shows the cities with the biggest falls.
| City | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swansea | £525 | £544 | -3.6% |
| Manchester | £685 | £699 | -2.1% |
| Salford | £693 | £708 | -2.0% |
| Cardiff | £650 | £659 | -1.4% |
| Birmingham | £614 | £622 | -1.4% |
The number of room ads on the market fell 4.7% in the year to Q3 2026. Supply had grown 8.2% in the year to Q3 2025, 20.1% in the year to Q3 2024 and 19.4% in the year to Q3 2023.
“Those navigating the rental market today will find they’re faced with inflated prices and shrinking supply,” said Matt Hutchinson, director at SpareRoom.
“Supply is down because the Renters’ Rights Act has driven away landlords in England. Some feel the investment opportunity is no longer worth the effort of compliance,” said Hutchinson.
“Plus, councils across the country are cracking down on HMOs when the need for affordable rooms has rarely been more urgent,” he added.
Hutchinson also linked rising rents to the Act’s ban on bidding wars between tenants.
“Rents are rising, not just because supply is down, but also because a knock-on effect of banning bidding wars is that asking rents are being set higher,” said Hutchinson.
“The Renters’ Rights Act is a solid step in terms of tenant security, but there has to be a second push to tackle affordability, otherwise renters end up in secure tenancies they still can’t afford,” he said.
