Private rental inflation peaked at 9.1%

Private rental inflation peaked at 9.1% in March 2024 and averaged 8.7% across that year, according to a briefing published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) on 13 April 2026¹. The foundation said that in the less than two years since the UK general election, rents across the UK had risen by an average of nearly 8%, which it put at almost £1,200 more expensive a year¹.

The briefing sets the March 2024 peak against wider inflation. It says overall inflation had fallen closer to Bank of England target levels by then, at 2.5% on average across 2024, and that private rental growth slowed to 6.3% in 2025, still above long-term average rates of growth¹. JRF said this meant that for the first time since the financial crisis, average rents were higher in real terms than in 2008¹.

On affordability, the briefing reports that private renters spent an average of 34% of their incomes on housing costs in 2013-14, and 34% again in 2024-25, compared with 19% for mortgagors and 28% for social renters¹. It says private renters in London spent an average of 46% of their incomes on rents in 2023-24, and that for private renters in the lowest income quintile the average proportion of household income spent on rent in 2023-24 was 63%, with median expenditure for that group at 50%¹. OECD data for 2023 showed 23% of UK private renters spending more than 40% of their income on rent, a higher rate than any other country in the group, the briefing states¹.

The briefing also covers housing support. It says Local Housing Allowance rates were frozen in 2024, meaning the support available reflects 30th percentile rents in the year to September 2023, and that since September 2023 rents have increased by 16%¹. For over half (54%) of private renters in receipt of Universal Credit in England, LHA did not cover their rent by November 2025, it says¹. Around 1.4 million private renters report receiving support through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit, while around 2.1 million do not, according to the briefing¹.

The briefing describes three "pinch points" that can worsen affordability despite modest average rent inflation: lumpy and unpredictable rent increases within a tenancy for most renters, above-inflation increases within a tenancy for a minority, and substantial increases in rental costs when moving to a new property¹. It also notes that the private rented sector grew by 2.7 million homes between 2000 and 2020 and now comprises a fifth of the total housing stock in England and Wales, while social housing fell from 31% of the overall stock in 1980 to 17% in 2020¹. It says the sector is now home to just under a quarter (24%) of children in England, up from 8% in 2000¹.

Why it matters for households

The figures describe what renters have already faced rather than a forecast. The 9.1% peak in March 2024 and the 8.7% average across 2024 are historical readings, and JRF reports that rental growth slowed to 6.3% in 2025¹. What the briefing says has not eased is the share of income going on rent: 34% on average in 2024-25, unchanged from 2013-14, and higher for lower-income renters and in London¹.

For households receiving housing support, the briefing points to a gap between frozen LHA rates and rents. It says the support available reflects 30th percentile rents in the year to September 2023, while rents have risen 16% since then, and that 54% of private renters in England receiving Universal Credit had LHA that did not cover their rent by November 2025¹. It adds that even if LHA were rebased to median local rents, an estimated 450,000 high housing-cost, low-income households would still see a shortfall between their subsidy and their actual rent¹.

The briefing also reports that around 28% of families with children in the private rented sector could not comfortably afford their housing costs, compared with 23% of private renters without children and 14% of families with children buying with a mortgage, and that 40% of private renting families with children were worried they might have to move home in the next year¹. General background on inflation and interest rates is covered in our rates and economy pages.

What happens next

JRF says it is currently examining how the Government could ease rent affordability pressures on renters, with an interim report due to be published in May¹. The briefing also cites Office for Budget Responsibility projections that private rents will grow faster than CPI inflation between 2027 and 2030 and broadly in line with wages¹. No further dates have been reported.