Housing · Renting · England and Wales · 2023–24
Renting: how much of renters’ income goes on rent?
About 36% of private renters’ gross household income in England (2023–24), and 42% in London. That share is high but has not risen steadily — it was 39.4% in 2015–16. What changed is the pace: between 2023 and 2025 rents rose 14%, against 6% for prices overall.
Evidence last reviewed 3 October 2026
The share of income, by place
ONS measures rent burden as the average private rent divided by the median gross income of households that rent privately. It is not a share of take-home pay, which would be higher. On that measure renters in England spent 36.3% of income on rent in 2023–24.
How much of renters’ income goes on rent, by place?
Rent takes a different share of income in different places
Mean monthly private rent as a percentage of the median gross monthly income of private-renting households, English regions and Wales, 2023–24 (filled dot) and 2015–16 (open dot).
- London41.6%
- England36.3%
- South West31.4%
- South East29.6%
- West Midlands29.2%
- East of England28.9%
- North West28.1%
- Yorkshire and The Humber27.4%
- Wales25.9%
- East Midlands24.4%
- North East19.8%
English regions and Wales · 2015–16 and 2023–24 · Official statistics in development
Sources, definitions and data — Rent takes a different share of income in different places
- Geography:
- English regions and Wales — Private-renting households
- Measure:
- Per cent of gross household income
- Period:
- 2015–16 and 2023–24
- Status:
- Official statistics in development
- Calculation:
- As published by ONS (Table 3).
- Compare with:
- England, 36.3%
- Not included / breaks:
- Gross income — before tax — of the renting household, not take-home pay. Rents are averages for all private tenancies, not new lets, so they lag asking rents.
Source: ONS, Private rental affordability, England, Wales and Northern Ireland: 2024, dataset Table 3. Chart HOUSE-02.
View the data as a table
| Area | 2023–24 | 2015–16 |
|---|---|---|
| London | 41.6% | 52.0% |
| England | 36.3% | 39.4% |
| South West | 31.4% | 32.1% |
| South East | 29.6% | 33.2% |
| West Midlands | 29.2% | 27.2% |
| East of England | 28.9% | 33.1% |
| North West | 28.1% | 30.2% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 27.4% | 26.3% |
| Wales | 25.9% | 31.5% |
| East Midlands | 24.4% | 25.0% |
| North East | 19.8% | 28.0% |
Over time: high, but not steadily rising
The share fell from 39.4% in 2015–16 to a low in 2022–23 and rose again in 2023–24. In London it fell further, from over half of income. Part of that fall may reflect who rents: as higher earners who could not buy stayed in the private sector, renting households’ median income rose. A falling share is therefore not proof that renting became easier for any particular household.
Rent as a share of renting households’ gross income, England and London
Same ONS measure and source as the chart above (Table 3), 2015–16 to 2023–24. The axis starts at zero.
1996–2026 displayed window · observations only. Shading marks years outside the displayed record.
Have rents risen faster than prices generally?
Rents lagged prices until 2022, then rose much faster
Annual average of the CPI private rents index and of the consumer prices index, UK, indexed so that 2015 = 100, 2015 to 2025.
1996–2026 displayed window · observations only. Shading marks years outside the displayed record.
United Kingdom · 2015 to 2025 · UK Facts calculation from official statistics
Sources, definitions and data — Rents lagged prices until 2022, then rose much faster
- Geography:
- United Kingdom
- Measure:
- Index, 2015 = 100
- Period:
- 2015 to 2025
- Status:
- UK Facts calculation from official statistics
- Calculation:
- UK Facts calculation: monthly private-rents index averaged over each calendar year, then both indices rebased to 2015 = 100.
- Compare with:
- All consumer prices
- Not included / breaks:
- The rents index covers all existing private tenancies, so it moves more slowly than advertised rents for new lets. The series before 2015 used a different method that understated rent growth, so it is not used here.
Source: ONS, Consumer price inflation (series D7BT and private rents component). Chart HOUSE-08.
View the data as a table
| Year | Private rents | All prices |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 2016 | 102.4 | 100.7 |
| 2017 | 104.2 | 103.4 |
| 2018 | 105.2 | 105.9 |
| 2019 | 106.6 | 107.8 |
| 2020 | 108.1 | 108.7 |
| 2021 | 109.5 | 111.6 |
| 2022 | 112.9 | 121.7 |
| 2023 | 118.8 | 130.5 |
| 2024 | 128.0 | 133.9 |
| 2025 | 136.0 | 138.4 |
Who rents privately
How many households rent privately?
Private renting nearly doubled between 2002 and 2014 and has held at about 19% since
Private-renting households as a percentage of all households, England.
1996–2026 displayed window · observations only. Shading marks years outside the displayed record.
England · 1980 to 2024–25 · Official statistics (survey estimate)
Sources, definitions and data — Private renting nearly doubled between 2002 and 2014 and has held at about 19% since
- Geography:
- England
- Measure:
- Per cent of households
- Period:
- 1980 to 2024–25
- Status:
- Official statistics (survey estimate)
- Calculation:
- As published (Annex Table 1.1). Years without a survey are left blank.
- Compare with:
- 2000: 10.0%
- Not included / breaks:
- Source changes: 1980–1991 Department of the Environment estimates; 1992–2008 Labour Force Survey; English Housing Survey from 2008–09.
Source: MHCLG, English Housing Survey headline report 2024–25, Annex Tables 1.1 and 1.4. Chart HOUSE-09.
View the data as a table
| Year | Private renters (%) |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 11.9 |
| 1981 | 11.1 |
| 1982 | 11.0 |
| 1983 | 10.8 |
| 1984 | 10.7 |
| 1985 | 10.3 |
| 1986 | 9.9 |
| 1987 | 9.5 |
| 1988 | 9.1 |
| 1989 | 9.2 |
| 1990 | 9.3 |
| 1991 | 9.4 |
| 1992 | 9.0 |
| 1993 | 9.4 |
| 1994 | 9.6 |
| 1995 | 9.9 |
| 1996 | 10.1 |
| 1997 | 10.5 |
| 1998 | 10.3 |
| 1999 | 9.9 |
| 2000 | 10.0 |
| 2001 | 10.1 |
| 2002 | 10.3 |
| 2003 | 10.8 |
| 2004 | 11.0 |
| 2005 | 11.7 |
| 2006 | 12.2 |
| 2007 | 12.7 |
| 2008 | 13.9 |
| 2008–09 | 14.2 |
| 2009–10 | 15.6 |
| 2010–11 | 16.5 |
| 2011–12 | 17.4 |
| 2012–13 | 18.0 |
| 2013–14 | 19.4 |
| 2014–15 | 19.0 |
| 2015–16 | 19.9 |
| 2016–17 | 20.3 |
| 2017–18 | 19.5 |
| 2018–19 | 19.3 |
| 2019–20 | 18.7 |
| 2020–21 | 18.5 |
| 2021–22 | 19.1 |
| 2022–23 | 18.8 |
| 2023–24 | 18.8 |
| 2024–25 | 18.9 |
What this means
The renter’s problem is less a steadily rising share of income than three things together: rents that are already a third of gross income on average, rents that have risen faster than prices since 2023, and tenancies that until May 2026 could be ended without a reason. The end of a private tenancy is one of the most common reasons households become homeless.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished no-fault evictions from 1 May 2026. Housing support in Universal Credit (Local Housing Allowance) was frozen for 2026–27, so for lower-income renters on benefits, rising rents fall on their own income. Whether security of tenure reduces supply as some landlords sell is disputed, and too recent to measure.
Options to help renters — security, support with costs, and more social homes — are compared in What would move the needle?. How homelessness has risen is on who is most exposed.
Sources and methods (3)
- ONS, Private rental affordability, England, Wales and Northern Ireland: 2024, dataset Table 3 — rent as a share of renting households’ gross income
- ONS, Consumer price inflation (series D7BT and private rents component) — private rents and consumer prices
- MHCLG, English Housing Survey headline report 2024–25, Annex Tables 1.1 and 1.4 — private renting as a share of households
Method notes
- Rent to income: ONS private rental affordability, mean rent ÷ median gross income of private-renting households; official statistics in development.
- Rents index: CPI private rents component (all existing tenancies), averaged by calendar year.
- Tenure: English Housing Survey and predecessor surveys; England.