Average UK private rent was £1,406 a month in September 2026, up 3.8% on a year earlier and the same annual rate as August, so rent growth is holding steady rather than speeding up (ONS, 21 October 2026). For your next rent review, that puts a market-level increase at around 4% in most of England, nearer 6% in the North West and far less in Scotland, but only local comparables can justify your exact figure.
This is the October update to our September rents report. This post is about the numbers behind your next rent review.
What is the average rent in the UK in 2026?
£1,406 a month across the UK in September 2026, £52 more than a year earlier. England is the most expensive nation, and Scotland's rents have almost stopped rising. Figures from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, published on 21 October 2026 (ONS dataset):
| Nation | Average monthly rent | Annual change | Month covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £1,406 | +3.8% | September 2026 |
| England | £1,466 | +4.0% | September 2026 |
| Wales | £848 | +4.1% | September 2026 |
| Scotland | £1,011 | +0.7% | September 2026 |
| Northern Ireland | £879 | +1.7% | July 2026 |
Scotland's 0.7% is the lowest annual change the ONS has recorded there since its annual series began in January 2016, and Wales slowed from 4.3% in August. The ONS advises caution when comparing Scotland and Northern Ireland with the rest of the UK, because their figures rely more on advertised new lets than on rents paid by existing tenants.
The rounded August numbers in our September report stand. The 21 October dataset still shows £1,400 and 3.8% for the UK in August 2026, although the underlying UK index was revised. None of the regional August figures we quoted has changed.
Have UK rent increases stalled at 3.8%?
Levelled off, not stalled: rents still rose 0.4% in September after 0.5% in August, but the annual rate has stopped climbing. Growth slowed from a peak of 9.1% in March 2024 to 3.3% in May and June 2026, picked up over the summer, and has now held at 3.8% for two months (ONS dataset, 21 October 2026):
| 12 months to | UK annual rent change | UK average monthly rent |
|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 5.5% | £1,354 |
| December 2025 | 3.9% | £1,367 |
| March 2026 | 3.4% | £1,377 |
| June 2026 | 3.3% | £1,388 |
| July 2026 | 3.7% | £1,393 |
| August 2026 | 3.8% | £1,400 |
| September 2026 | 3.8% | £1,406 |
Two caveats. General inflation has nearly caught up: CPI rose 3.5% in the 12 months to September 2026, up from 3.1% in August (ONS, 21 October 2026), so rents are now rising only 0.3 points faster than prices generally. And the latest two months are provisional: the ONS will revise the UK figures for August and September on 18 November, when newer Northern Ireland data arrive.
Which regions have the biggest rent increases in 2026?
The North West, at 5.7% in the 12 months to September 2026, while London and the South East were slowest at 3.5% each. The gap between the fastest and slowest regions narrowed from 2.8 points in August to 2.2 points, because the northern regions slowed while the South East and East picked up. English regions, fastest to slowest (ONS dataset, 21 October 2026):
| Region | Average monthly rent, September 2026 | Annual change to September | Annual change to August |
|---|---|---|---|
| North West | £975 | +5.7% | +5.8% |
| North East | £790 | +5.3% | +5.8% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £869 | +4.8% | +4.9% |
| West Midlands | £983 | +4.4% | +4.9% |
| South West | £1,251 | +4.2% | +4.4% |
| East Midlands | £928 | +3.8% | +3.7% |
| East of England | £1,298 | +3.8% | +3.5% |
| South East | £1,438 | +3.5% | +3.0% |
| London | £2,338 | +3.5% | +3.5% |
Regional averages hide wide local gaps. In September 2026 Kensington and Chelsea had the highest average rent at £3,739 a month and Dumfries and Galloway the lowest at £556; outside London, Oxford topped the list at £1,957. In Westminster the average rent was 0.4% lower than a year earlier. To see what your own patch pays, use the method in our rental yield by postcode guide.
Are rents rising faster than house prices?
Yes. UK house prices rose 0.9% to £273,000 in the 12 months to August 2026, against 3.8% for rents over the same months (ONS, 21 October 2026). That was the fourth month in a row of slowing house price growth, and London prices fell 2.2%, pulled down by a 5.0% fall in the average price of flats.
When rents outpace prices, gross yields for buyers rise. A rough gauge is a year's average rent divided by the average price, both for August 2026, using the PIPR dataset and the UK House Price Index dataset published on 21 October 2026 (August prices are provisional):
| Area | Average rent | Average price | Rent and price change | Rough gross yield, August 2025 to August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | £1,400 | £273,037 | +3.8% and +0.9% | 5.98% to 6.15% |
| North West | £969 | £220,393 | +5.8% and +2.2% | 5.10% to 5.28% |
| London | £2,332 | £554,430 | +3.5% and -2.2% | 4.77% to 5.05% |
London's rough yield rose most, by 0.28 points, because prices fell while rents rose. The North West's rose 0.18 points, as prices there kept climbing, but it still yields more on these averages. Read the table as direction, not as the yield on a real property: the rent average covers every private let and the price average every sale, so the mix of homes differs. The rental yield calculator does it properly for one property, with costs.
What does this mean for a Section 13 rent increase?
It tells you which way your market is moving, not the figure to put on Form 4A. If a tenant challenges, the First-tier Tribunal decides the open market rent for your property from comparable lettings, and it cannot set more than you proposed (Housing Act 1988, section 14ZB, as at 1 November 2026). A regional rise of 5.7% is not evidence that your flat is worth 5.7% more; three recent lettings of similar homes nearby are.
The first published decisions show how often a figure above the evidence gets cut: see what the first tribunal cases show. The mechanics, one increase a year on Form 4A with at least two months' notice, are in the Section 13 guide.
The government plans to change the decision-maker. On 9 September 2026 it announced that HMRC's Valuation Office would take over decisions on rent challenges in England, without setting a start date. While those reforms are developed, challenges still go to the tribunal, and a tenant who challenges does not pay the higher rent until it decides (GOV.UK, 9 September 2026). These rules apply in England; Scotland and Wales have their own.
How much is a market-level rent increase in pounds?
About £47 a month on a North West two-bed and £77 on a London one, if each rent tracks its region's ONS two-bed average. Illustrative example: two landlords set a two-bed rent at that average a year ago and now move it to this year's average, testing yield on the ONS regional average price. The rents are from the 21 October 2026 PIPR dataset; prices are from the UK HPI dataset linked above.
| North West two-bed | London two-bed | |
|---|---|---|
| ONS two-bed average rent, September 2025 | £840 | £2,162 |
| ONS two-bed average rent, September 2026 | £887 | £2,239 |
| Increase per month | £47 | £77 |
| Increase per year | £564 | £924 |
| Price used: ONS regional average, all homes, August 2026 | £220,393 | £554,430 |
| Gross yield before the increase | 4.57% | 4.68% |
| Gross yield after the increase | 4.83% | 4.85% |
The London landlord collects £360 a year more in extra rent, but the North West landlord adds 0.26 points of yield against London's 0.17. London's price is 2.5 times the North West's, while its increase is only 1.6 times as large. The average price covers every type of home, so these yields do not estimate the return on an actual two-bed. And if your rent was last set below the market, the gap to close is bigger; if it was set on a new let this spring, it may be smaller.
What should landlords watch next?
Watch the MPC decision on 5 November, the ONS release on 18 November and the planned register launch on 15 December 2026:
- 5 November 2026: the Bank of England's interest rate decision. Bank Rate is 3.75% after the 17 September hold, when three of the nine members voted for 4% (Bank of England).
- 18 November 2026: the next ONS release, with October rents, September house prices and revised UK rent figures for August and September.
- 15 December 2026: the Register your rental property service is scheduled to start opening region by region, West Midlands first (GOV.UK, 29 October 2026). Our register guide covers the fee and the dates.
Padlord keeps each property's rent history and yield together, and flags a rent sitting 10% or more below the ONS council-wide average for that kind of home, as a prompt to check your comparables before a review.
General information, not financial or legal advice. ONS figures for the latest months are provisional and will be revised; sources checked on 1 November 2026.
