UK rents rise 3.8% to £1,406 a month in September 2026

Average UK private rent hit £1,406 a month in September 2026, up 3.8%, while house prices rose only 0.9% to £273,000 in the year to August 2026.

The facts

Average UK monthly private rent reached £1,406 in the 12 months to September 2026, +3.8% on a provisional estimate.
England recorded £1,466 and 4.0%, Wales £848 and 4.1%, Scotland £1,011 and 0.7%.
Northern Ireland came in at £879 and 1.7%, measured to July 2026, the latest month published for the region.
London carried the highest rent at £2,338 in September 2026, yet its annual rate of 3.5% was the joint lowest with the South East.
UK average house prices rose 0.9% to £273,000 in the 12 months to August 2026, with England at £294,000 and 0.4%.
Scotland reached £198,000 and 2.9% on prices, Wales £216,000 and 3.1%, and Northern Ireland £202,000 and 9.2% measured in the second quarter of 2026.

Rent is climbing four times faster than price. The same £273,000 entry now buys a larger income stream.
Owners already letting in Britain sit on a rent base that Glopra measures at 19.61 USD per square metre a month, with a bubble risk score of 41 out of 100 in the moderate band, so the income gain is not arriving on top of a stretched valuation.
Scotland breaks the pattern with 0.7% rent growth against 2.9% price growth, which compresses yield there, while Wales widens it at 4.1% against 3.1%.

18 November 2026 brings the next release, moving rents to October and prices to September.
Northern Ireland rent data runs two months behind the rest of the United Kingdom, so the £879 figure covers July 2026.
England's 0.4% price growth against 4.0% rent growth is the widest gap in this release.

Sources: Office for National Statistics https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/privaterentandhousepricesuk/october2026