The share of the English population who occupied a rental apartment decreased gradually since the 1980, but started rising again after 2003. As of 2024, 35.2 percent of the population rented, with the majority renting from a private landlord. Approximately 16.6 percent of the population were social renters and rented from a housing association or a local authority.

14% of White British households rented their home privately in the 2 years from April 2021 to May 2023 – the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups.

Renters in the UK spent on average 32.5 percent of their income on rent as of January 2025. Scotland and Yorkshire and Humber were the most affordable regions, with households spending less than 28 percent of their gross income on rent. Conversely, London, South West, and South East had a higher ratio. Greater London is the most expensive region for renters Greater London has a considerably higher rent than the rest of the UK regions. In 2024, the average rental cost in Greater London was more than twice higher than in the North West or West Midlands. Compared with Greater London, rent in the South East region was about 600 British pounds cheaper. London property prices continue to increase In recent years, house prices in the UK have been steadily increasing, and the period after the COVID-19 pandemic has been no exception. Prime residential property prices in Central London are forecast to continue rising until 2027. A similar trend in prime property prices is also expected in Outer London.

The average agreed rent for new tenancies in the UK ranged from *** British pounds to ***** British pounds, depending on the region. On average, renters outside of London paid ***** British pounds, whereas in London, this figure amounted to ***** British pounds. Rents have been on the rise for many years, but the period after the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend. Since 2015, the average rent in the UK increased by about ** percent, with about half of that gain achieved in the period after the pandemic. Why have UK rents increased so much? One of the main reasons driving up rental prices is the declining affordability of homeownership. Historically, house prices grew faster than rents, making renting more financially feasible than buying. In 2022, when the house price to rent ratio index peaked, house prices had outgrown rents by nearly ** percent since 2015. As house prices peaked in 2022, home buying slowed, exacerbating demand for rental properties and leading to soaring rental prices. How expensive is too expensive? Although there is no official requirement about the proportion of income spent on rent for it to be considered affordable, a popular rule is that rent should not exceed more than ** percent of income. In 2024, most renters in the UK exceeded that threshold, with the southern regions significantly more likely to spend upward of ** percent of their income on rent. Rental affordability has sparked a move away from the capital to other regions in the UK, such as the South East (Brighton and Southampton), the West Midlands (Birmingham) and the North West (Liverpool, Manchester, Blackpool and Preston).

This statistic displays the share of properties in the United Kingdom's (UK) largest cities (excluding London) that are rented versus owned by the dweller as of the ************** of 2019. London had the highest percentage of renters with ** percent, whereas Peterborough had a share of ** percent of properties that were owned and only ** percent that were rented.

Percentage of total monthly household income spent on private rent, by country and by regions of England, financial years ending 2013 to 2023.

70% of White British households owned their own homes – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups.

This statistic displays the share of properties in London in the United Kingdoms (UK) that are rented compared to owned by the the dweller in the fourth quarter of 2019, by district. The West Central area of London saw the highest share of rented property in the fourth quarter 2019 with ** percent. London's south east, on the other hand, had ********** (** percent) of dwellers renting and just over ********* (** percent) who lived in a property they owned.

Households from the Black Caribbean, Mixed White and Black Caribbean, and Bangladeshi ethnic groups were most likely to rent social housing in the 2 years from April 2021 to March 2023.

This dataset contains the percentage breakdown of owner occupiers, private renters and social renters in England.

Households are grouped into three broad categories known as tenures: owner occupiers, social renters and private renters. The tenure defines the conditions under which the home is occupied, whether it is owned or rented, and if rented, who the landlord is and on what financial and legal terms the let is agreed.

Owner occupiers: households in accommodation which they either own outright, are buying with a mortgage or as part of a shared ownership scheme.

Social renters: this category includes households renting from Local Authorities (including Arms’ Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) and Housing Action Trusts) and Housing Associations, Local Housing Companies, co-operatives and charitable trusts.

Private renters: this sector covers all other tenants including all whose accommodation is tied to their job. It also includes people living rent-free (for example, people living in a flat belonging to a relative).

This dataset is owned by the English Housing Survey and data is derived from the English Housing Survey headline report

Median monthly rental prices for the private rental market in England by bedroom category, region and administrative area, calculated using data from the Valuation Office Agency and Office for National Statistics.

Rent Inflation in the United Kingdom decreased to 5.80 percent in June from 6.10 percent in May of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United Kingdom Rent Inflation.

Tenants in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020 had a range of reasons as to why they liked to rent. ** percent of the tenants surveyed liked to rent because renting allowed them not to worry about repairs while a smaller percentage of ** percent of renters enjoyed the independence they got while renting.

About ** percent of renters in the UK expressed that they lived in areas where they could not afford to buy a house. The house price to rent ratio has steadily increased in the United Kingdom since 2015 which makes renting the cheaper option for many tenants.

In the 2 years to March 2023, White British households spent 28% of their weekly income on rent payments on average – the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups.

Private Rental Prices in the United Kingdom decreased to 7.40 percent in April from 7.70 percent in March of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United Kingdom Private Rental Prices.

Monthly data showing the proportion of gross income spent on rent for new tenancies across the UK, from Dataloft Rental Market Analytics (DRMA). These are official statistics in development. Source: Dataloft. Dataloft is a PriceHubble company.

Outright owners 65 years and over were the largest household tenure group in England in 2024 with *** million households falling in this group. Buying a home with a mortgage was most prevalent among people aged 45 to 54 with *********** falling in it. This accounts for approximately ** percent of those buying a home with a mortgage in England in 2024.

Expenditure on rent by renters and mortgages by mortgage holders, by region and age from the Living Costs and Food Survey for the financial year ending 2022. Data is presented as a proportion of total expenditure and a proportion of disposable income.

Rental price statistics historical data time series (indices and annual percentage change). These are official statistics in development.