Rent tops £1,000 a month in more areas - find out where

Renters are paying an average of at least £1,000 a month for a new tenancy in more than half of British neighbourhoods, according to data shared with the BBC.

In 2020, average rent in only 23% of local authority areas in Britain broke the £1,000 barrier, but five years on that figure had risen to 52%, the research from property portal Zoopla shows.

Average wages have risen over the same period, but many tenants say renting has become unaffordable.

Landlords are warning of cost pressures to come, although Zoopla's data suggests rent rises have slowed sharply.

Our interactive graphic shows where the £1,000 a month rental zone has extended, principally from London.

The average rent figures are nominal, so do not account for inflation.

Use the tool to see how the cost of privately rented homes has risen in your council area in England, Scotland, and Wales.

The cost of renting soared when Covid pandemic restrictions eased, with Zoopla calculating an increase of 36% between 2020 and 2025, adding to cost-of-living pressures for people who may prefer to rent or cannot afford to buy a home.

Average rent of more than £1,000 had become the norm, rather than the exception, in southern England and major cities, it said.

Although rent inflation is now easing, it is still a problem for renters in some areas where there is a shortage of available properties.

Nurse Victoria Fear, 51, contacted the BBC's Your Voice to highlight the situation in her area. She said that available rental properties in Dumfries and Galloway were extremely scarce.

Her landlord has told her the rent, in the home where she has lived for eight years, will rise from £950 a month to £1,300.

"All my money goes on rent, bills and food," she said. "We've not had a holiday in years."

Temporary rent controls were put in place in Scotland during the Covid pandemic, but those expired in April 2025. New long-term measures will allow ministers to designate parts of the country as rent control areas by 2027.

She said she understood her landlord's thinking, but felt she was seriously disadvantaged as a single mum-of-three with a solitary income.

"I don't have an issue with market-value rent, but it is not an affordable proposition," she said.

With two of her children working towards exams, she said she would have to find a way to manage.

Prohibitively high rents have meant people are moving into flat shares later in life and are staying on longer, according to website Spareroom.com.

It said under-25s now made up just over a quarter (26%) of the flat share market, down from almost a third (32%) a decade ago.

Meanwhile, renters aged 45 and over now account for 16% of the market, up from 10% in 2015, creating more multi-generational house shares.

The good news for renters is that cost pressures for new tenancies have started to ease, according to Zoopla. Its data shows:

• At 1.9% a year, rent growth for new tenancies was now at its lowest level for four years
• Some 14% more homes were now available to rent than a year ago, so renters were less likely to face bidding wars
• Demand for rented homes was at its weakest at the start of a year for seven years, reflecting a decline in international migration for work and study and improved conditions for first-time buyers

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said rents were expected to rise by between 2% and 3% over 2026.

"While renting has become more expensive and is an important cost for household budgets, the market is shifting in renters' favour," he said. "Cost-of-living pressures from rent are easing rather than intensifying."

However, Chris Norris, chief policy officer at the National Residential Landlords' Association (NRLA), said that landlords faced ongoing cost pressures that could drive up rents.

He said there were signs landlords were adding 4% to 5% to rent to "future-proof" them as they faced changing tenancy rules under the Renters' Rights Act in England.

Many landlords with older properties were having to invest in better energy efficiency because of new rules. In addition, they face an increase in income tax on rental income in 2027.

Interactive by Jess Carr and Tommy Lumby