Room rents hit record highs in 6 UK regions as flatshare supply falls
SpareRoom’s latest rental index found average UK room rents reached £761 per month in Q2 2026, while flatshare supply fell 3.2% year on year after 3 years of growth.
Room rents reached record highs in 6 of the UK’s 9 regions in Q2 2026, according to the latest rental index from SpareRoom.
The flatshare site said the average UK room rent now stands at £761 per month, up 0.5% on the same period last year and 6.7% higher than in Q2 2023.
The figures come after the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act came into effect on 1st May. SpareRoom said flatshare supply fell by 3.2% in the year to Q2 2026, ending a 3-year run of growth.
Supply had previously risen by 8.7% in Q2 2025, 24.2% in Q2 2024 and 15.0% in Q2 2023.
East Anglia recorded the largest 3-year increase in room rents, with average monthly rents up 9.9% from £622 in Q2 2023 to £684 in Q2 2026.
South East England saw rents rise 9.5% over the same period, while South West England recorded a 9.4% increase and the highest annual rise, at 1.6%.
Greater London was the only region to record a year-on-year fall, with average room rents down 0.2% from £917 in Q2 2025 to £915 in Q2 2026.
By country, rents reached record highs in Wales and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland recorded the strongest 3-year growth, with room rents rising 12.0% to £580 per month, while Wales saw rents increase 9.3% to £594.
The highest level of city room rents was recorded in inner London, at £979 per month, followed by Edinburgh at £834 and Oxford at £814.
Among the 30 UK cities with the highest levels of flatshare supply, Norwich recorded the largest annual increase, with room rents rising 5.1% to £619. Exeter followed at 4.9%, Liverpool at 4.4% and Coventry at 4.1%.
Lincoln recorded the largest annual fall, with room rents down 4.0% to £510. Swansea fell 2.8% to £532, while Leicester was down 1.7% to £561.
Matt Hutchinson, director at flatshare site 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.
“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.”
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