Rent prices have increased by almost 9% across the UK in the last year, and have reached their highest levels on record.

It costs £1,293 a month to rent the average home in England, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which cover the year to April 2024. That’s an increase of 8.9% compared to last year.

In Scotland, the average rent is £952 a month, which is 10.0% more than at the same time last year. Meanwhile, in Wales, the average is £730, which is 8.2% higher than last year. Figures aren’t available for Northern Ireland. It means that rents have increased by an average of 8.9% across the UK as a whole.

London has seen the largest increase in rent prices in the country. Rents in the capital as a whole have increased by an average of 10.8% to £2,070 a month. Brent has seen the largest increase of any local authority in the country over the last year. It cost £2,028 a month to rent a home in the London borough in the 12 months to April - that’s 32.6% more than a year earlier.

Rents in Folkestone and Hythe have increased by 22.4% over the last year to an average of £991 a month. Greenwich has seen the next largest increase at 16.1% (£1,782 a month), followed by Lothian in Scotland at 15.8% (£1,330 a month), and Argyll and Bute, also in Scotland, at 15.6% (£790 a month).

You can see how the cost of renting has changed in each local authority in England and Wales by using our interactive map:

Oldham has seen the largest rent increases of any local authority in the North of England. The average home in Oldham cost £766 a month to rent in the 12 months to April. That’s up by 13.4% compared to a year earlier. That’s marginally more than in Salford, which has seen the North’s next highest rise. The average home there costs £1,033 a month to rent, up 13.2% compared to last year.

Rents in York have gone up by an average of 13.0%, in Rochdale by 12.3%, and in Manchester by 12.2%. Cardiff has seen the largest rent price increases in Wales. The average home in the Welsh capital costs £1,010 a month to rent, 13.0% more than it did last year. Swansea has seen Wales’ next largest increase at 12.1% to £739 a month.

Top 20 places where rent prices have increased the most

  • Brent: 32.6%
  • Folkestone and Hythe: 22.4%
  • Greenwich: 16.1%
  • Lothian: 15.8%
  • Argyll and Bute: 15.6%
  • Islington: 15.3%
  • West Dunbartonshire: 14.3%
  • Ipswich: 13.5%
  • Birmingham: 13.5%
  • Oldham: 13.4%
  • Hinckley and Bosworth: 13.3%
  • Worcester: 13.2%
  • Salford: 13.2%
  • Cardiff: 13%
  • York: 13%
  • Wokingham: 12.9%
  • Tower Hamlets: 12.8%
  • Leicester: 12.7%
  • Hounslow: 12.5%
  • Dumfries and Galloway: 12.5%