THE PROPERTY FILTER TAKE
Average UK rent has risen 4.3% over the past year to £1,369 a month, according to Lomond's insights report, covered by Mortgage Strategy on 27 August 2026.
Tenants are now handing over 32.7% of their annual income in rent, so the headroom for another increase is thinner than the growth rate suggests.
Consider benchmarking your renewal rent against the regional average before you set it, and speak to your letting agent about what your tenant can realistically absorb.
Average UK rent has risen 4.3% over the past year to £1,369 a month, and tenants are now spending 32.7% of their annual income on it. That comes from Lomond's insights report, covered by Mortgage Strategy on 27 August 2026. From a landlord's side of the tenancy it reads as a healthy uplift. From your tenant's side it is edging towards the point where the sums stop working.
Where rents are rising fastest
London is the outlier. Average rents in the capital reached £2,418 a month, 76% above the UK average (Mortgage Strategy, 27 August 2026). That gap is not new. But it leaves London tenants far less room to absorb another rise before they downsize, move further out, or take in a sharer.
Outside the capital, the North West and Yorkshire both saw rents rise 5% year-on-year, ahead of the 4.3% UK figure, reaching £1,215 and £1,283 a month respectively. Regional rent gaps read more clearly against a fixed benchmark. Our free Local Housing Allowance rates map shows the postcode-level rate that Housing Benefit will pay in your area.
Kent is the one to watch. Average rents there rose 5%, but the number of tenancies agreed in the county jumped 121% over the past year, according to the same Lomond research. Demand in Kent is clearly not the constraint. The research does not break down what drove that jump, so the honest read is high transaction volume rather than a confirmed cause.
What does a third of income mean for void risk?
The 32.7% figure is a UK average, and the published coverage of Lomond's research gives no income share by region. It is best read as a national midpoint rather than a number you can drop onto your own postcode. In London, where rents sit 76% above the UK average, the local picture will look different.
In practice, the affordability squeeze shows up long before the arrears do. Viewings slow. Renewal conversations get harder. And a void period (the weeks between one tenancy ending and the next beginning) costs you rent you had already counted on. That is what makes a stretched but paying tenant an expensive one to lose.
That is the yield impact (yield being annual rent measured against what the property is worth) people miss when they read a headline rent rise. Before you set the next renewal figure, it is worth checking what the rent has to be to keep the lender comfortable as well as the tenant. Our free buy-to-let stress test calculator works out the rental coverage, the multiple of the mortgage payment lenders want to see, that your property needs to clear.
Who your next tenant is likely to be
The average UK renter is 31.5 years old, and Scotland has the youngest renters at an average age of 25 (Mortgage Strategy, 27 August 2026). Age shapes tenancy length. Someone in their early thirties is likelier to be settled than a 25-year-old sharer, and likelier to stay put if the property is run properly. That changes how you weigh gross rent against retention. Our property investment strategies hub covers how that trade-off plays out across different holding plans.
John Ennis, Lomond chief revenue officer, said: "Our insights report shows that the rental market remains resilient, but affordability continues to be a key consideration for many households. With tenants now spending almost a third of their annual income on rent, the importance of delivering well-managed, high-quality homes in the right locations has never been greater."
Ennis added that what Lomond sees across the UK "is not a slowdown in demand, but a shift in renter priorities, with tenants increasingly focused on long-term value". For a landlord, that is the practical read on the whole data set. The demand is still there, but your tenants are spending it more carefully. Our free property resources hub has the tools worth having in place before your next renewal round.
Key takeaways
Average UK rent is £1,369 a month, up 4.3% year-on-year (Lomond's insights report via Mortgage Strategy, 27 August 2026).
Tenants spend 32.7% of their annual income on rent, just under a third.
London averages £2,418 a month, 76% above the UK average.
The North West (£1,215) and Yorkshire (£1,283) both rose 5%, ahead of the UK figure.
Kent rents rose 5% while tenancies agreed in the county jumped 121% over the past year.
Frequently asked questions
How much of their income do UK tenants spend on rent?
Which regions saw the biggest rent increases?
How old is the average UK renter?
