The UK rental market continues to evolve, with new data from Zoopla highlighting the most and least expensive cities for tenants. Over the past three years, rent prices have risen sharply, creating affordability challenges for many renters.
However, as reported by Manchest Erevening News, the latest figures suggest a shift in market dynamics, with supply gradually improving and growth rates slowing. While demand still outpaces availability in many areas, the landscape appears to be stabilising, raising questions about how rental trends will unfold in 2025.
UK Rental Prices Remain High Despite Slowing Growth
Between 2021 and 2024, the average cost of renting a home in the UK rose by 24%. However, the latest figures indicate a more moderate increase of 3% over the past year, bringing the average UK rent to £1,284 per month.
This represents the slowest growth rate in 3.5 years, suggesting that the supply and demand gap is beginning to narrow.
Estate agents now have an average of 13 rental properties available, up from 10 in 2023, but still 22% below pre-pandemic levels. Despite the improvement, competition remains high, with 12 prospective renters per available home—double the levels seen before 2020.
A Zoopla spokesperson commented on the current market dynamics, stating:
“We expect demand for rented homes to continue to exceed available supply in 2025, but to a lesser extent than we’ve seen in the recent past. The overall stock of rented homes is unlikely to increase in size in the coming years due to policy changes impacting profit margins and operating complexities for landlords.”
Regional Differences in UK Rental Supply
The availability of rental properties has increased across most of the UK, with the North East and Scotland seeing the biggest improvements. However, the West Midlands stands out as an exception, with a 10% drop in available rental homes compared to last year.
The slower growth in UK rental prices is particularly noticeable in major cities, where rents are rising at a lower rate than average earnings.
This shift could provide some relief for tenants who have faced significant rent hikes in recent years.
The Most Expensive Cities for Renters
London remains the most expensive city for renters, with an average rent of £2,166 per month. However, its annual growth rate of 1.1% is significantly lower than in previous years. Other costly cities include:
- Bristol – £1,415 (2.2% increase)
- Edinburgh – £1,320 (3.0% increase)
- Cardiff – £1,170 (4.8% increase)
- Southampton – £1,165 (3.8% increase)
- Manchester – £1,139 (3.2% increase)
The Most Affordable UK Rental Markets
At the other end of the spectrum, Belfast has the lowest average rent among major UK cities at £819 per month. However, it has also seen the highest rate of growth, with rents rising by 9.2% in the last year. Other relatively affordable cities include :
- Sheffield – £841 (2.0% increase)
- Liverpool – £864 (5.4% increase)
- Nottingham – £978 (-1.2% decrease)
- Leeds – £998 (0.4% increase)
- Glasgow – £982 (1.3% increase)
- Birmingham – £987 (2.9% increase)
Nottingham stands out as the only city in the study where rents have decreased over the past year, with a 1.2% decline.
UK Rental Trends 2025 Where Prices Are Rising and Falling
Zoopla analysts predict that demand for rental properties will continue to exceed supply in 2025, although not as drastically as in previous years. Affordability constraints are playing a key role in slowing rental price inflation, particularly in larger cities.
According to Zoopla, affordability remains the primary constraint on rental inflation:
“Affordability remains the primary constraint on rental inflation and is the primary factor behind rents rising at their lowest rate since August 2021. However, there remains scope for rents to rise at an above-average rate in areas where renting remains more affordable, including areas adjacent to big cities.”
Despite this, rents are expected to rise by 3-4% over the course of 2025, with more affordable regions experiencing faster growth than expensive urban centres.
The rental sector’s overall stability will depend on factors such as government policy changes and landlords’ ability to navigate financial pressures.
“We expect rents to increase by 3-4% over 2025 as slower growth in large cities is offset by faster growth in more affordable markets. Minimising the negative impacts of policy change on supply is essential to help most renters, who are on low to middle incomes,” – added Zoopla.
