The average cost of renting a room in the UK has reached a record £753 per month, up 0.8% year on year, according to new data from flatshare site SpareRoom.
The figure represents the highest on record, with rents surpassing the £700 mark for the first time in 2023.
In London, the average room rent now stands at £995 per month — unchanged from a year ago but up from £980 in the previous quarter.
Since 2020, UK rents have risen by 28% and London rents by 37%, reflecting persistent affordability pressures in the rental market.
However, supply in the flatshare sector has increased by 15% year on year, both across the UK and the capital, despite uncertainty among landlords awaiting the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Regionally, Wales recorded the steepest annual increase in average rents, up 2.3% to £586, followed by the South West (+1.5%) and East Anglia (+1.3%).
Scotland saw a smaller rise of 0.7%, but average rents there have reached a record £723. The North East and Northern Ireland were the only regions to record slight declines.
Demand for rooms in commuter towns has also surged, with St Albans, Brentwood, Redhill and Basingstoke among the most sought-after locations for renters priced out of major cities.
Dumfries topped the list for annual rent growth, up 12.1% to £591, while other towns including Taunton, Scunthorpe and Bath also saw double-digit increases.
Outside London, the most expensive cities to rent a room are Edinburgh (£887), St Albans (£847) and Oxford (£823), while the cheapest include Bradford (£470) and Hull (£488).
Matt Hutchinson, director at SpareRoom, said: “There aren’t many people who can say their wages have risen 28% over the past five years.
“And when pay rises aren’t in line with rent increases, keeping within the threshold of affordability – i.e. spending no more than 30% of your income on rent – quickly becomes impossible.
“We need to address the huge problem of chronic undersupply in the rental market creatively.
“Encouraging more people to rent out unused rooms in their homes to lodgers, would offer a desperately needed supply injection.
“There are around 28 million empty bedrooms in England, Wales and Scotland. Freeing up just 5% of them would provide affordable accommodation for 1.4 million people.”
