Share of income spent on rent falls, but pressures remain across much of Britain

The research shows that, across Great Britain, renters now spend 40.9% of their income on rent, down from 41.5% the previous year, while across England the figure sits higher at 41.6%, down from 42.2%. 

This marginal improvement has largely been driven by stronger wage growth rather than any slowdown in rental costs. Across Great Britain, rents have increased by 3.9% over the past year, while earnings have grown at a faster rate of 5.4%, helping to ease the overall affordability burden.

At a regional level, the picture is mixed. 

In London, earnings have increased by 6.9% compared to rental growth of just 2.1%, resulting in the largest reduction in the proportion of income required to cover rent (-2.33pp). However, the capital remains by far the least affordable region, with renters still spending 49.5% of their income on rent. 

A similar trend has been seen across Scotland (-0.87pp), the South East (-0.55pp), East of England (-0.50pp) and Wales (-0.22pp), where earnings growth has outpaced rental increases, resulting in the proportion of income required to cover renting falling year on year. 

In contrast, rental growth has outpaced or matched wage growth across a number of regions, pushing affordability in the opposite direction. The North East has seen rents increase by 7.9% against earnings growth of 4.4%, driving the largest increase in the proportion of income required to cover rent (+0.87pp). The North West has seen a similar pattern, with rental growth of 6.1% outstripping earnings growth of 4.2%, resulting in a +0.55pp increase. 

More modest increases have been seen across the South West (+0.12pp), Yorkshire and the Humber (+0.11pp), West Midlands (+0.05pp) and East Midlands (+0.02pp), where rental and wage growth have remained more closely aligned. 

Despite these increases, some of these regions remain among the most affordable. The North East continues to see the lowest proportion of income required to cover rent at 26.9%, followed by Wales (28.5%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (28.6%). 

Sam Humphreys, Head of M&A at Dwelly, commented: 

“On the face of it, a reduction in the proportion of income required to cover rent is positive, but it’s important to understand what’s driving it. In many cases, this improvement is down to stronger wage growth rather than any meaningful reduction in rental costs, and it’s also being seen in areas that remain some of the least affordable when you look at the overall share of income required. 

At the same time, the more affordable regions are now seeing the strongest increases in the proportion of income needed to rent, which shows that affordability pressures are still building across much of the country. 

So while there are some encouraging signs, the reality is that more needs to be done to improve affordability, particularly as further legislative changes through the Renters’ Rights Act begin to take effect and increase the cost and resource required to manage rental properties. 

This is where technology is starting to play a more important role. By streamlining processes and reducing the administrative burden on agents, it allows them to operate more efficiently, which in turn helps landlords manage costs and maintain more sustainable rental pricing in what remains a challenging environment.”

Data Tables and Sources

• Average annual cost of renting sourced from the Office for National Statistics - Private rent and house prices (Dec 2025)

• Average annual earnings sourced from the Office for National Statistics - Employee earnings in the UK: 2025

• View the full data tables and sources here.