UK rents rise again as London reaches £2,161

The average UK rent rose to £1,340 in May, with HomeLet recording monthly increases in 10 of the 12 regions it monitors.

Greater London moved faster, reaching £2,161 after a 1.6% rise during the month, while Scotland recorded the largest May increase at 1.9%.

The average figure is 1.1% higher than April’s £1,325 and 2.5% above the £1,307 recorded in May 2025.

Outside Greater London, the average rent reached £1,146, up 1% from £1,135 in April.

Compared with May last year, when the figure stood at £1,124, the increase was 2%.

Rents are going up

Jo Dickens, the head of business development at HomeLet and Let Alliance, said: “May’s data underlines that, while the pace of growth remains measured, rents are still edging upwards across much of the UK.

“Affordability remains a key concern for tenants, so the modest, incremental increases we’re seeing will be felt.”

She added: “The priority for agents and landlords remains sustainable tenancies – balancing fair market rents with what tenants can realistically afford.

Regional rent rises

London’s average rose by £33 in May, from £2,128 to £2,161, and was 3.5% higher than the £2,088 recorded in the same month last year.

Of the 12 regions covered by HomeLet, 10 recorded a monthly increase.

Northern Ireland saw monthly rents drop by .5%, while rents in the North East were unchanged.

Scotland led the monthly increases with growth of 1.9%.

Greater London and the East of England followed, both up 1.6%.

On an annual basis, Scotland again recorded the highest increase, with average rent up 3.9% year on year.

Greater London and the North East each recorded annual growth of 3.5%.