Research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that private renters in England spend over a third – 34.2% – of their income on renting.
The ONS report, Private rent affordability, England and Wales: 2023, outlined that this figure is for a median-priced rented home and compares to 27.2% in Wales for the financial year ending (FYE) March 2023. It showed that rents in England are less affordable on average than those in Wales.
Affordability similar to 2015
Even though private rents have increased since 2015 and at a quicker pace since 2022, the incomes of privately renting households in England and Wales have risen faster.
Privately renting household incomes in England have also increased faster than UK inflation since 2015.
This all means affordability in FYE 2023 is largely similar to 2015.
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Regional disparities
Since 2015, average rents in London have been between 39.8% and 57.2% of incomes. Meanwhile, they have remained above 20% but rarely exceeded 35% in other areas.
For the first time, the ONS estimated private rental affordability at the local authority level. It found that the most affordable rent in FYE 2023 was in North Lincolnshire (at 18.8% of median income), while the least affordable was in Kensington and Chelsea (at 52.2% of median income).
Out of 334 local authorities in England and Wales, 233 local authorities (69.8% of the total) had a median rent that was considered affordable (sitting at below 30% of income) in FYE 2023. This is the highest number since the data series began in 2015.
The local authorities with the least affordable rents in each region in 2023 were those in urban centres such as London, Manchester, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, and Bath.
