According to data from Rightmove, average rental prices are now 15% higher than they were two years ago, just before the pandemic hit, and tenants are facing the most competitive rental market ever recorded.
This rent increase is predominately due to a shortage of rental homes available, but a greater demand of tenants, with many staying put in their current properties and renewing their leases, rather than re-entering the market.
Screen With Envy decided to find out what exactly your rental budget could get you in the UK. They scraped Rightmove UK, analysing over 123 areas and 83,000 listings. From this, they were then able to determine the average rent PCM for a flat, shared property, bungalow and house. Additionally, they looked at the average monthly rent price for a particular type of property across 1 – 4 bedrooms.
Average Rent PCM Nationwide
Nationwide, the average rent PCM currently for a flat is £2,086.56. For a house, the average rent is £2,151.22, for shared property, rent is typically £699.82 and for a bungalow rental, the average is £1,261.38.
Kilmarnock, a large town in East Ayrshire, Scotland, is the cheapest place to rent a flat. In fact, you’ll find it’s 10x lower than renting in South West London. It was also found that, generally, it costs an extra £500 a month to move from a 1-bed to a 2-bed flat. But, in Lincoln, it can actually be cheaper to get a 2-bed flat overall.
It should come as no surprise to learn that renting houses is more expensive than flats nationwide. However, in 3 regions, houses are cheaper:
Lincoln (Flat £723.45 vs House £577.81)
Plymouth (Flat £646.15 vs House £610.87)
Sheffield (Flat £822.16 vs House £636.12)
