Rent costs have risen by nine percent across the country over the last year, with some areas experiencing much bigger price hikes than others. It now costs £1,238 a month on average to rent a private home in Great Britain, according to the latest data from the government’s Housing Market Indices Team.
This is compared to February 2023, when the average rent was £1,136 a month. The amount people pay in rent, and how much rents have increased by, varies up and down the country.
Greater Manchester has seen some of the biggest rent hikes in the UK, with three of its boroughs having experienced larger increases than in Manchester. Rent prices in Oldham, Rochdale and Salford are soaring, having gone up by more than 12 percent in the last year.
READ MORE: Homes you can buy now in Greater Manchester’s best places to live
Rents in Oldham have increased by 13.6 percent over the last 12 months, rising from £667 in February 2023 to £758 today. Only four other local authorities in Great Britain have seen larger percentage increases.
In Rochdale, rent costs have risen by 12.7 percent, taking the average rent from £607 to £684 over the last year, while in Salford they’ve increased by 12.5 percent from £898 up to £1,010.
Across the rest of the UK, rent prices are up by as much as 20 percent in some areas. The London borough of Brent has seen the largest annual increase in average private rent.
The average home there now costs £1,824 a month in the year to February 2024 – that’s 20 percent higher than in the year to February 2023.
That’s followed by Folkestone and Hythe, where the average private rent has gone up 19.8%. Then Greenwich at 15.4%, Lothian at 14.9%, and West Dunbartonshire at 14.5%.
You can see the rent price rises in your local area using our interactive map:
Full list of UK areas with the largest rent increases:
Brent: 20%
Folkestone and Hythe: 19.8%
Greenwich: 15.4%
Lothian: 14.9%
West Dunbartonshire: 14.5%
Argyll and Bute: 13.8%
Oldham: 13.6%
Portsmouth: 13.6%
Arun: 13.6%
Islington: 13.4%
Birmingham: 13.3%
Tower Hamlets: 13.2%
Ipswich: 13.1%
Swansea: 13%
Westminster: 12.8%
Greater Glasgow: 12.8%
Cardiff: 12.8%
Rochdale: 12.7%
Worcester: 12.5%
Salford: 12.5%
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
