UK private rents rise 3.8% to £1,406 as house price growth slows

Average UK monthly private rent rose 3.8% to £1,406 in the 12 months to September 2026, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday, in a provisional estimate.

That annual rate is unchanged from the 12 months to August 2026, so rent inflation held steady while house price growth continued to cool.

Average UK house prices rose 0.9% to £273,000 in the 12 months to August 2026, down from 1.2% in the 12 months to July.

The rent figure is the average monthly cost for a privately rented home, and the Price Index of Private Rents covers new and existing tenancies.

The house price figure is the average sale price across the UK, with the latest 12 months of estimates provisional and open to revision.

In England, annual rent inflation was highest in the North West at 5.7% in the 12 months to September 2026.

It was lowest in London and the South East, which were both on 3.5%, still just below the UK-wide rate of 3.8%.

Average monthly rent in Scotland was £1,011 in September 2026, up 0.7% or £7 on a year earlier.

That was down from 1.1% in the 12 months to August and the lowest annual change reported for Scotland since the series began in January 2016.

The ONS advises caution when comparing Scottish and Northern Irish rent estimates with the rest of the UK, because of differences in how the data are collected.

Northern Ireland rent data run only to July 2026, so the UK figure relies on an estimate for the latest two months in that country.

Average house prices in the 12 months to August 2026 rose 0.4% to £294,000 in England, 3.1% to £216,000 in Wales and 2.9% to £198,000 in Scotland.

London had the lowest annual inflation of the English regions, with prices down 2.2%, driven by large falls in the price of flats, which make up about half of London sales.

In Northern Ireland, the average price was £202,000 in the April to June quarter of 2026, up 9.2% or £17,000 on a year earlier.

In the previous spring bulletin, rents rose 3.5% to £1,381 in the 12 months to April 2026, so the average has since climbed by £25 a month.

House prices were unchanged at £268,000 in the 12 months to March 2026, after a monthly fall of 0.4% compared with a rise of 1.2% a year earlier.

The ONS linked that earlier slowdown to unusually strong activity ahead of Stamp Duty Land Tax changes on 1 April 2025 in England and Northern Ireland.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported in its August 2026 survey that UK prices showed “a modest degree of downward pressure”, with London declining faster than the UK average and the North West reporting modest growth.

The rent index became official statistics on 20 May 2026, having previously been classed as official statistics in development.

The ONS said it is engaging with the Office for Statistics Regulation on the next steps towards accredited status.

A further edition of the bulletin is listed for October 2027, though no figures are attached to it.