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New ONS data for the year to 2024 show median earners in England now spending 36.3% of income on private rents, with London far worse at 41.6% and pockets such as Kensington and Chelsea forcing tenants to devote the majority of pay to housing. Industry surveys point to falling supply and rising landlord costs as drivers, while charities urge urgent policy action to curb evictions and boost affordable homes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Renters in England are facing a fast\u2011worsening affordability squeeze, official figures published this week show. According to the Office for National Statistics\u2019 private rental affordability bulletin for the financial year ending 2024, tenants on median incomes in England would spend 36.3% of their earnings on an average\u2011priced privately rented home \u2014 a rise from 34.2% the previous year \u2014 with London the most pressured region where the average share reaches 41.6% and average rents sit at about \u00a31,957 a month. <\/p>\n
The ONS measure uses a 30% rent\u2011to\u2011income threshold as an affordability benchmark; the new data show that threshold being breached across swathes of the country and that the problem is particularly acute in London. All of the capital\u2019s 32 local authority areas were above the 30% affordability line for eight of the nine financial years to 2024, and the ten least affordable council areas are all in London \u2014 led by Kensington and Chelsea, where someone on a median income would spend around 74.3% of gross pay on rent, followed by Westminster, Wandsworth and Camden. <\/p>\n
Outside the capital, several urban centres and commuter belts are also well above the ONS affordability benchmark. The bulletin and contemporaneous industry analysis highlight Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, Brighton and Trafford among the least affordable areas, while places with significant commuter populations such as Sevenoaks and Watford are registering particularly high rent\u2011to\u2011income ratios. By contrast, the north east remains the most affordable English region, with average private rents around \u00a3641 a month \u2014 roughly 19.8% of median income \u2014 and Wales and Northern Ireland show broadly lower ratios on the ONS metric. <\/p>\n
The immediate driver is clear in the statistics: rents have been rising faster than incomes. The ONS notes that a period in 2022\/23 when wages rose more quickly temporarily eased pressure, but since then the balance has shifted back and the ratio of rent to income has deteriorated. Financial press analysis says rising mortgage and financing costs, together with reduced rental supply and policy uncertainty, are underpinning those upward pressures. <\/p>\n
Industry surveys point to how that dynamic operates on the ground. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors\u2019 lettings surveys have recorded steep falls in new rental instructions and a sustained shortage of available stock, while agents continue to report strong tenant demand \u2014 a combination that tends to push rents higher as fewer properties come to market. Commentary from market analysts adds that higher costs and regulation are prompting many private landlords to reduce portfolios or sell, further tightening supply. <\/p>\n
Campaign groups and housing charities say the human consequences are mounting. Tom Darling, director of the Renters\u2019 Reform Coalition, told The Guardian the figures \u201cshow that the biggest issue facing renters \u2014 the cost of their rent \u2014 isn\u2019t going away any time soon,\u201d and warned that without limits on in\u2011tenancy increases millions will be effectively pushed from their homes. The coalition\u2019s published analysis argues the government\u2019s current reforms fall short and urges measures such as a national rental affordability commission and tighter controls on rent rises to prevent what it calls economic evictions. <\/p>\n
Joseph Elliott, lead analyst at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, told The Guardian that high rents are \u201clocking people out of secure homes and driving poverty and homelessness,\u201d and the foundation has pressed ministers to end uncertainty over the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), re\u2011linking benefits to local rental markets and increasing the supply of social housing to tackle the structural drivers of high private rents. <\/p>\n
Market commentators echo the warning about shrinking choice. Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, told The Guardian that landlords are \u201ccontinuing to sell up \u2014 concerned about higher costs from more regulation and more tax,\u201d which leaves \u201cmore tenants chasing dwindling numbers of properties, so rents are continuing to rise.\u201d Her firm\u2019s analysis highlights how reduced landlord instructions and refinancing pressures have helped push up private rents even as wages have also increased. <\/p>\n
Taken together, the ONS figures and industry data point to an affordability problem that is now national in scale and likely to persist unless policymakers act. RICS\u2019 market commentary suggests further upward pressure on rents if supply continues to shrink, while campaigners urge a mix of immediate protections for tenants and longer\u2011term measures to boost social and affordable housing. The debate now centres on whether the government will prioritise regulatory levers to constrain rents, step up housing benefit support, or focus on increasing supply \u2014 a choice with profound implications for millions of households who already spend a rising share of their incomes on rent. <\/p>\n