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Rents rise 5% on average in more affordable areas – double the national average

ended 10. June 2026

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Rents are rising 5% on average in more affordable areas where rents are below £750pcm - over twice the national average of 2.1%, according to Zoopla’s latest Rental Market Report.

Regionally, Carlisle (+9.1%), Kilmarnock (+9%) and Halifax (+6.5%) are among the fastest-rising markets where rents are rising quickly off a lower base.

On the other hand, the likes of Bournemouth (-1.7%), Nottingham (-1.5%) and Birmingham (-1.1%) have each seen rents fall, with weaker demand and affordability pressures keeping rental growth lower across most UK cities.

Despite this, average earnings nationally are growing at 4% YoY - nearly twice the rate of UK rental inflation.

Each UK region/country has 20-30% fewer homes to rent than before the pandemic - a lack of new investment is placing upward pressure on rents while limiting choice for renters.

Enquiries per rented home at its lowest level of 6 years - hitting 5.6 enquiries per rental listing.

  • What is your reaction to the report?
  • Why are rents rising higher in cheaper areas?
  • How can we make rents more affordable?
  • What advice do you have for landlords?

Responses asap.

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Steven Greenall
Mortgage and Protection Advisor at Protect & Lend
Government policies targeting Landlords are clearly not working with increases such as these. In Scotland, rents are up over 7.5 % last month where there are supposed to be rental controls. Politicians continually fail to realise if you deter Landlords the only ones to suffer will be tenants. Landlords have the option of investing their funds elsewhere, renters don't have the choice. The only way to reduce rent is to increase supply. Basic economics.
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Nouran Moustafa
Practice Principal & IFA at Roxton Wealth
The worrying part of this report is that rental pressure is now hitting the places people used to move to for affordability. When cheaper towns see faster rent growth, it means the safety valve is closing.

Rents are rising faster in lower-cost areas because demand has been displaced. People priced out of major cities look further out, local wages then struggle to keep up, and a shortage of rental homes gives tenants very little negotiating power. It is not that these markets have suddenly become luxury locations; it is that affordability pressure has spread.

The solution is not landlord-bashing. We need more rental supply, more long-term investment, faster planning, and policy that does not scare good landlords out while pretending tenants will somehow benefit from fewer homes.

My advice to landlords is simple: know your numbers properly. Stress-test mortgage costs, tax, repairs and voids. Fair rents and good tenants are worth more than chasing every last pound and creating turnover
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Editor
Kate Underwood
Founder & Chief People Strategist at Kate Underwood HR and Training
This is a workforce story dressed up as a housing one. When rent eats the wage, morale goes with it, and right now far too many people are taking a second job just to keep the lights on, not to get ahead.
For small businesses it's a quiet crisis. You can't always match the pay rises that rent demands, but you can offer flexibility, security and a culture worth staying for. The real risk is a team that's physically at their desk but mentally adding up the cost of living.
Earnings rising faster than rents nationally sounds reassuring, until you remember averages don't pay anyone's rent. In the cheaper areas where rents are climbing fastest, it's the lowest-paid feeling the squeeze hardest, and they're the ones with the least room to absorb it.
So my advice to employers is simple. Talk to your people about money before burnout does the talking for you.
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Patricia Ogunfeibo
Founder & non-practicing Solicitor at tenant2owner
Enquiries are at a six-year low and earnings (4%) are finally outpacing rental inflation (2.1%). Yet every region has 20-30% fewer rental homes than pre-pandemic, so the structural shortage remains. Landlords are still selling up, with the obvious solutions being to staunch the outflows as well as offering more homeownership routes.

That rents are rising fastest in cheaper areas (Carlisle 9.1%, Kilmarnock 9%) isn’t surprising. Expensive cities have hit an affordability ceiling and so displaced renters are now pushing up demand in lower-cost areas.

Irrespective of what the numbers are indicating, landlords who price realistically, manage well, and stay professional will thrive, as will renters with a demonstrable income, good credit and a good landlord’s reference.