HomeLet Rental Index shows average UK rent fell to £1,375 in October
Rents on new tenancies dipped 0.9% in a month, but the share of income going on rent rose to 32.7%.
The average rent agreed on a new tenancy in the UK was £1,375 a month in October, £12 less than in September, according to HomeLet's latest Rental Index. That is a monthly fall of 0.9%, although rents are still 2.2% higher than in October 2025, when the average was £1,345.
Renters spent an average of 32.7% of their income on rent in October, up from 32.1% in September. HomeLet said that was still below the peak of 33.5% recorded in May 2024. Compared with a year earlier, affordability has worsened in every region apart from the East Midlands.
HomeLet's figures come from its tenant referencing service, so they show rents actually agreed on new lets rather than asking prices on adverts.
London and the regions
Rents in London fell 0.5% to £2,260 a month, 1.9% higher than a year ago. London tenants spent 38.9% of their income on rent in October. Outside the capital the average was £1,164, down 1.0% on the month and 2.3% up on the year.
Seven of the twelve regions saw rents fall between September and October. The biggest drop in cash terms was in the South East, where the average went from £1,472 to £1,432. Scotland fell 2.6% to £1,026 but still has the fastest annual growth of any region at 4.8%. Tenants there spent 26.8% of their income on rent.
The South West, at £1,258, is up 4.5% on a year ago. The East Midlands was the only region where rents were lower than in October 2025, down 0.6% to £925.
The North East remains the cheapest place to rent, at £727 a month. Yorkshire and Humberside was the only region with a rise of more than 0.1% on the month, up 0.6% to £971.
