The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released new data on private rental affordability in England and Wales, revealing that less than 70% of local authorities had a median rent considered “affordable” for the financial year ending March 2023. Private renters in England spent 34.2% of their income on rent, compared to 27.2% in Wales. The ONS defines affordable rent as being less than 30% of income.
In London, average rents have ranged between 39.8% and 57.2% of incomes since 2015, while in other regions they have remained above 20% but rarely exceeded 35%. In the West Midlands, only Solihull was deemed “unaffordable”, with 96.7% of authorities in the region meeting the affordability criteria.
Conversely, only 18.8% of London authorities had a median rent considered “affordable”. The six London authorities that met the affordability criteria were Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Havering, Hillingdon, and Sutton. The East Midlands and North East regions also ranked highly for the percentage of local authorities considered “affordable”.
This report marks the first time the ONS has estimated rental affordability at the local authority level. North Lincolnshire, where median rent accounted for 18.8% of income, was identified as the most affordable area in 2022/23. Close behind were Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent, and Copeland, each at 19.1%. On the other hand, Kensington and Chelsea were identified as the least affordable at 52.2%, followed by Manchester (45.6%), Westminster (45.3%), and Brighton and Hove (44.7%).
Despite the increase in private rents since 2015, the overall incomes of private-renting households have increased at a faster rate, leaving affordability at broadly similar levels to those in 2015.
To learn more about the situation in your area, see the map below. Created by Polimapper.
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