Private Rent 3 Bed
Trinidad Baltzell
The last planned release of the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) was on 14 February 2024. As part of our continuous improvement of UK price statistics, these statistics have been superseded by our new, monthly "Private rent and house prices, UK" bulletin, in which we will continue to publish housing statistics and links to relevant tables and datasets.
The change to this release was planned as part of the Office for National Statistics's (ONS) redevelopment of private rental price statistics and unifies ONS' private rental price and house price statistics into a single housing release. Contact h...@ons.gov.uk with any questions or feedback.
Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK increased by 6.2% in the 12 months to January 2024 (provisional estimate). The annual rate has remained unchanged since November 2023, and represents the joint-highest annual percentage change since this UK data series began in January 2016.
Figure 1: UK annual private rental prices rose by 6.2% in the 12 months to January 2024Private rental price percentage change over 12 months, UK and London, January 2016 to January 2024 Source: Index of Private Housing Rental Prices from the Office for National StatisticsNotes:
- Data presented are classified as official Statistics in development. Estimates are not seasonally adjusted. More information is available in Section 8: Strengths and Limitations.
Northern Ireland data are currently available up to November 2023. To estimate UK figures up to January 2024, Northern Ireland's November 2023 index has been carried forward. Updated Northern Ireland data will be used to revise UK estimates for December 2023 and January 2024 when available.
The annual inflation rate of private rental prices in the UK began to increase in the second half of 2021 (Figure 1). Annual growth was seen across all regions except London, where prices decreased. The annual percentage change in rents increased across all regions in 2022, including in London, and this generally continued during 2023.
In the 12 months to January 2024, rental prices for the UK (excluding London) increased by 5.9% (provisional estimate) the same annual percentage change as the previous two months. Private rental prices in London account for almost a third of UK rental expenditure, as shown in our Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK: annual weights analysis dataset.
Private rental prices in London increased by 6.9% in the 12 months to January 2024. This was up from 6.8% in the 12 months to December 2023, and represents the joint-highest annual percentage change since this London data series began in January 2006.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported an increase in tenant demand, in their January 2024 UK Residential Market Survey, in the three months to January. However, respondents once again noted a decline in the volume of new landlord instructions. RICS also noted that the imbalance between supply and demand is still expected to drive rental prices higher over the coming months.
Supply and demand pressures can take time to be reflected in the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP). This is because the index reflects price changes for all private rental properties, rather than only newly advertised rental properties. We explain how we measure price change in the IPHRP in our Measuring rents: stock vs flow blog post.
In England, private rental prices increased by 6.1% in the 12 months to January 2024, unchanged from the increase in the 12 months to December 2023. When London is excluded from England, private rental prices increased by 5.7% in the 12 months to January 2024. The figures are the joint-highest annual percentage changes since these data series began in January 2006.
Private rental prices in Wales increased by 7.0% in the 12 months to January 2024. This was the largest annual increase of all the countries in Great Britain, but showed a further slowing from the record high of 7.3% in the 12 months to November 2023.
Because the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) measures rental price changes of the entire privately rented stock, changes in annual inflation of newly let rental prices take time to be reflected in IPHRP's measure. HomeLet's annual inflation for new tenancies in Wales rose substantially between mid-2022 and early 2023, reaching a peak of 11.0% in the 12 months to March 2023. The rise in the IPHRP's annual inflation for Wales between mid-2022 and late 2023 is likely to reflect this high annual inflation for new lets.
However, IPHRP's annual inflation of the stock in Wales has slowed slightly in the latest two consecutive months, down from the record-high annual rate of 7.3% in the 12 months to November 2023. This is consistent with HomeLet's report that annual inflation for new lets in Wales has generally slowed in 2023, slowing to 6.5% in the 12 months to January 2024.
Scotland rents data (underlying the IPHRP's stock measure) are mainly for advertised new lets, which are not subject to the price cap. We advise users to bear this in mind when interpreting estimates for Scotland and comparing with other UK countries.
Private rental prices in Northern Ireland increased by 9.5% in the 12 months to November 2023, up from 9.3% in the 12 months to October 2023. The annual rate for Northern Ireland remains higher than for other UK countries. Northern Ireland data lag two months behind the rest of the UK and updated Northern Ireland data will be used to update our UK estimates when they become available.
Figure 2: Annual rental price inflation was higher in Wales than in England and ScotlandPrivate rental price percentage change over 12 months for countries of the UK, January 2012 to January 2024 Source: Index of Private Housing Rental Prices from the Office for National StatisticsNotes:
- Data presented are classified as official statistics in development. Estimates are not seasonally adjusted. More information is available in Section 8: Strengths and Limitations.
The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Act passed on 6 October 2022, introducing a temporary rent cap in the private rented sector in Scotland. This cap, which applies to in-tenancy rent increases, was initially set at 0% for rent-increase notices served from 6 September 2022 until 31 March 2023. Private landlords could alternatively apply for a rent increase of up to 3% to help cover certain increases in costs in defined and limited circumstances. The Act has since been extended to 31 March 2024, with a mid-tenancy rent-increase cap of 3% from 1 April 2023. Private landlords are able to apply for a rent increase of up to 6% to help cover certain increases in costs in defined and limited circumstances.
Figure 3: Rental prices have increased more in England and Northern Ireland than in Wales and Scotland since 2015Private rental price indices for countries of the UK, January 2015 to January 2024 Source: Index of Private Housing Rental Prices from the Office for National StatisticsNotes:
- Data presented are classified as official statistics in development. Estimates are not seasonally adjusted. More information is available in Section 8: Strengths and limitations.
London was the English region with the highest annual rents inflation in the 12 months to January 2024, at 6.9%. This was up from 6.8% in the 12 months to December 2023, and represents the joint-highest annual percentage change since this London data series began in January 2006.
Figure 4: Highest annual rents inflation was in LondonPrivate rental price percentage change over the 12 months to January 2024, by English region Source: Index of Private Housing Rental Prices from the Office for National StatisticsNotes:
- Data presented are classified as official statistics in development. Estimates are not seasonally adjusted. More information is available in Section 8: Strengths and limitations.
Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK: monthly estimates
Dataset Released 14 February 2024
Rental price statistics historical data time series (indices and annual percentage change). These are official statistics in development.
Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK: annual weights analysis
Dataset Released 22 March 2023
Aggregate weights information used in the experimental Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP). See our Guide to experimental statistics article for more information.
Administrative data are data that people have already provided to the government through day-to-day activities. Examples include health records, social security payments, and educational attainment information.
The Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) is created using administrative data, which are data that are already collected for other purposes, to estimate rental prices. The sources of private rental prices are the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE). Data for Northern Ireland also include data provided by Propertynews.com.
The sources of the annually updated Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK: annual weights analysis dataset are the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), Scottish Government, Welsh Government, NIHE and VOA.
The last planned release of the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) was on 14 February 2024. As part of our continuous improvement of UK price statistics, these statistics have been superseded by our new, monthly Private rent and house prices, UK bulletin, in which we will continue to publish housing statistics and links to relevant tables and datasets.
Northern Ireland rental data are not available for the latest two months. To produce provisional estimates of the IPHRP and annual percentage change for the latest two months, Northern Ireland's index has been carried forward. For example, rental price inflation has been assumed to be 0% for the latest two months.
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