1. Main points
Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 4.4% in the 12 months to January 2023, up from 4.2% in the 12 months to December 2022.
Annual private rental prices increased by 4.3% in England, 3.9% in Wales, and 4.5% in Scotland in the 12 months to January 2023.
Within England, the East Midlands saw the highest annual percentage change in private rental prices in the 12 months to January 2023 (5.0%), while the West Midlands saw the lowest (3.9%).
London's annual percentage change in private rental prices was 4.3% in the 12 months to January 2023.
2. UK private rental prices
Figure 1: The UK annual private rental price percentage change rose to 4.4% in the 12 months to January 2023
ndex of Private Housing Rental Prices percentage change over 12 months, UK and London, January 2016 to January 2023
Source: Office for National Statistics – Index of Private Housing Rental Prices
Notes:
- Data presented are classified as Experimental Statistics. More information is available in Section 8: Strengths and limitations.
Download this chart Figure 1: The UK annual private rental price percentage change rose to 4.4% in the 12 months to January 2023
Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK increased by 4.4% in the 12 months to January 2023, representing the largest annual percentage change since this UK series began in January 2016.
The annual change in UK private rental prices paid by tenants remained steady between November 2019 and the end of 2020. The annual percentage change in rents slowed in early 2021, which was driven by the slowdown, and later reduction, of London rental prices. This may have reflected lower demand in London because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For example, remote working meant workers no longer needed to live close to offices, and housing preferences changed.
Private rental prices in the UK began to increase in the second half of 2021, with annual growth across all regions except London, where prices decreased. The annual percentage change in rents has increased across all regions in 2022, including in London.
In the 12 months to January 2023, rental prices for the UK (excluding London) increased by 4.4%, up from an increase of 4.3% in December 2022. Private rental prices in London increased by 4.3% in the 12 months to January 2023, up from an increase of 4.0% in December 2022. This is the strongest annual percentage change in London since August 2015.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported in their UK Residential Market Survey that tenant demand increased over the month. However, this is the least elevated reading since February 2021, and suggests that the pace of demand growth is softening across the rental market. On the supply side, new landlord instructions remain on a downward trend, so near-term expectations continue to point towards rents being squeezed higher.
Supply and demand pressures can take time to feed through to the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP). This is because the Index reflects price changes for all private rental properties, rather than only newly advertised rental properties. Our Measuring rents: stock vs flow blog post explains how we measure price change in the IPHRP.
Back to table of contents3. Annual UK private rental price percentage change by country
In England, private rental prices increased by 4.3% in the 12 months to January 2023. When London is excluded from England, private rental prices increased by 4.3% in the 12 months to January 2023. Both of these figures reflect the highest annual percentage change since these England series began in January 2006.
Private rental prices in Wales increased by 3.9% in the 12 months to January 2023. This is up from an increase of 3.5% in December 2022, and is the highest annual percentage change since this Wales series began in January 2010.
Private rental prices in Scotland increased by 4.5% in the 12 months to January 2023. This is up from an increase of 4.4% in December 2022, and is the highest annual percentage change since this Scotland series began in January 2012.
The annual percentage change for Northern Ireland in January 2022 was 9.2%. This was higher than the other countries of the UK. Northern Ireland data have been carried forward since November 2022. Northern Ireland data will be updated in our Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK bulletin to be published on 22 March 2023.
Figure 2: Annual rental percentage change in Scotland continues to surpass England and Wales
Index of Private Housing Rental Prices percentage change over 12 months for countries of the UK, January 2012 to January 2023
Source: Office for National Statistics – Index of Private Housing Rental Prices
Notes:
- Data presented are classified as Experimental Statistics. More information is available in Section 8: Strengths and limitations.
- Northern Ireland data are carried forward until updated data are available to publish on 22 March 2023.
- The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Bill passed on 6 October 2022, temporarily restricting landlords from increasing rental prices for existing residential tenancies in Scotland until at least 31 March 2023. Ministers may change the rent cap while it is in force.
Download this chart Figure 2: Annual rental percentage change in Scotland continues to surpass England and Wales
Figure 3: Rental prices have increased more in England and Northern Ireland than in Wales and Scotland since 2015
Index of Private Housing Rental Prices indices for countries of the UK, January 2015 to January 2023
Source: Office for National Statistics – Index of Private Housing Rental Prices
Notes:
- Data presented are classified as Experimental Statistics. More information is available in Section 8: Strengths and limitations.
- Northern Ireland data are carried forward until updated data are available to publish on 22 March 2023.
- The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Bill passed on 6 October 2022, temporarily restricting landlords from increasing rental prices for existing residential tenancies in Scotland until at least 31 March 2023. Ministers may change the rent cap while it is in force.
Download this chart Figure 3: Rental prices have increased more in England and Northern Ireland than in Wales and Scotland since 2015
4. Annual UK private rental price percentage change by English region
Focusing on the English regions, the largest annual rental price percentage change in the 12 months to January 2023 was in the East Midlands at 5.0%. The East Midlands was also the region where private rental prices were rising at the fastest annual rate throughout 2022.
Of the English regions, the lowest annual rental price percentage change in the 12 months to January 2023 was in the West Midlands at 3.9%.
Figure 4: Weakest annual rental price percentage change is in the West Midlands
Index of Private Housing Rental Prices percentage change over the 12 months to January 2023, by English region
Source: Office for National Statistics – Index of Private Housing Rental Prices
Download this chart Figure 4: Weakest annual rental price percentage change is in the West Midlands
Figure 5: London rental prices experienced larger peaks and troughs than other regions
Index of Private Housing Rental Prices percentage change over 12 months, by English region, January 2007 to January 2023Embed code
Embed code
Notes:
- The grey line shows England's 12-month average rental price percentage change
Download the data
Back to table of contents5. Private rental data
Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK: monthly estimates
Dataset | Released 15 February 2023
Rental price statistics historical data time series (indices and annual percentage change).
Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK: annual weights analysis
Dataset | Released 23 March 2022
Aggregate weights information used in the experimental Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP). See our Guide to experimental statistics article for more information.
Measures of owner occupiers’ housing costs
Dataset | Released 24 March 2021
Monthly historical time series for all three approaches to measuring owner occupiers' housing costs – payments, rental equivalence and net acquisitions – including contributions to growth from the different approaches, UK.
Measures of owner occupiers’ housing costs: weights analysis
Dataset | Released 24 March 2021
Aggregate inflation measure for owner occupiers’ housing costs (OOH). Includes monthly time series and weights for all three approaches of measuring OOH – payments, rental equivalence and net acquisitions – aggregated with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), UK.
6. Glossary
Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP)
The IPHRP measures the change in the price that tenants face when renting residential property from private landlords.
Administrative data
Administrative data are data that people have already provided to the government through day-to-day activities, for example, health records, social security payments or educational attainment information.
Back to table of contents7. Measuring the data
Economic statistics governance after Brexit
More information regarding the new governance following UK's exit from the EU is available in our previous release.
Future developments
Following theDigital Economy Act 2017, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) gained access to Valuation Office Agency (VOA) private rental microdata. We aim to redevelop the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) and private rental market summary statistics (PRMS) to produce mix-adjusted average rental prices that are comparable over time. We also aim to refine geography to lower geographic levels, to better meet user needs.
An overview of the methodology that we intend to use is available in our article, The redevelopment of private rental prices statistics, intended methodology. We will now need to spend more time ensuring the production system is developed on a strategic platform and is sustainable. This has resulted in our initial timetable being out of date. More information and an updated timetable for these developments is available in our Private rental prices development plan: updated February 2022. If you have any queries or feedback on these developments, please emailhpi@ons.gov.uk.
Sources
The IPHRP is created using administrative data. This means that the index makes use of data that are already collected for other purposes to estimate rental prices. The sources of private rental prices are the VOA, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE). Data for Northern Ireland also include data provided by Propertynews.com.
The sources of the annually updated Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK: annual weights analysis dataset are the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), Scottish Government, Welsh Government, NIHE and VOA.
The IPHRP's indices are updated on a monthly basis with the new monthly estimate. Data are indexed with January 2015 as a base year. Data for England are provided from January 2005, data for Wales from January 2009, and data for Scotland from January 2011. UK data are from January 2015.
Quality
More information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Index of Private Housing Rental Prices Quality and Methodology Information (QMI).
Back to table of contents8. Strengths and limitations
Strengths
The Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) is constructed using large administrative sources, specified in Section 7: Measuring the data. Annually, over 450,000 private rental prices are collected in England, 30,000 in Wales, 25,000 in Scotland and 15,000 in Northern Ireland. The index not only measures the change in newly advertised rental prices, but reflects price changes for all private rental properties.
Limitations
The IPHRP is published as price indices, rather than average prices. It is also only published down to a country and regional level. While actual rental prices cannot currently be published in the IPHRP because of data access constraints, we are actively working to acquire the necessary data.
The IPHRP is released as Experimental Statistics, and is subject to revisions if improvements in the methodology are identified. Results should be interpreted with this in mind.
Back to table of contents9. Related links
UK House Price Index: December 2022
Bulletin | Released 15 February 2023
Monthly house price inflation in the UK, calculated using data from HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, and Land and Property Services Northern Ireland.
Consumer Price Inflation, UK: January 2023
Bulletin | Released 15 February 2023
Price indices, percentage changes and weights for the different measures of consumer price inflation.
Private rental growth measures, a UK comparison: January to December 2021
Article | Released 20 January 2022
Compares growth in the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) with other measures of private rental growth.
Private rental prices development plan, UK: updated February 2022
Article | Released 8 February 2022
Overview of our plans for the statistical development of rental prices statistics, including a timeline for development.
Private rental market summary statistics in England: October 2021 to September 2022
Bulletin | Released 14 December 2022 Median monthly rental prices for the private rental market in England, calculated using data from the Valuation Office Agency.
Measures of owner occupiers' housing costs, UK: January to March 2020
Article | Released 17 June 2020
The different approaches of measuring owner occupiers' housing costs (OOH) associated with owning, maintaining and living in one's own home.
10. Cite this statistical bulletin
Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 15 February 2023, ONS website, statistical bulletin, Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK: January 2023
As a seasoned expert in real estate and housing market trends, I bring a wealth of knowledge to dissect and analyze the recent statistical bulletin from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) regarding the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) in the UK as of January 2023.
The key takeaway from the report is the 4.4% increase in private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK during the 12 months leading up to January 2023. This marks the highest annual percentage change since the initiation of the UK series in January 2016. To put this into context, the annual change in rental prices remained stable from November 2019 to the end of 2020. Subsequently, in early 2021, there was a slowdown, largely influenced by decreasing rental prices in London, possibly due to lower demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote work trends and shifting housing preferences contributed to this shift, as workers were no longer bound to living close to offices.
However, starting from the second half of 2021, private rental prices across all regions, except London, began to rise. The report indicates that this trend persisted throughout 2022, even in London, where rental prices increased by 4.3% in the 12 months to January 2023, up from 4.0% in December 2022. The East Midlands experienced the highest annual percentage change in private rental prices at 5.0%, while the West Midlands had the lowest at 3.9% during the same period within England.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported increased tenant demand in the month leading up to the report, although at a pace lower than that seen since February 2021. On the supply side, new landlord instructions continued to decrease, suggesting a potential upward pressure on rents in the near term.
The data further delves into the annual percentage change in private rental prices by country within the UK. In England, prices increased by 4.3%, with a similar rate when London is excluded. Wales experienced a 3.9% increase, and Scotland saw the highest annual percentage change at 4.5%. Notably, the report highlights that Northern Ireland had the highest annual percentage change in January 2022 at 9.2%, although updated data for Northern Ireland will be available in a subsequent release.
The report also touches on the regulatory landscape, mentioning the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Bill passed on October 6, 2022. This bill temporarily restricts landlords in Scotland from increasing rental prices for existing residential tenancies until at least March 31, 2023.
The geographical breakdown of annual rental price percentage change within England reveals that the East Midlands had the highest increase at 5.0%, while the West Midlands had the lowest at 3.9%. The data also provides historical context, showing that London's rental prices have experienced larger peaks and troughs compared to other regions.
The bulletin concludes with additional resources, including datasets, glossary terms, and links to related articles, providing a comprehensive understanding of the UK's private rental market dynamics. It's important to note the ongoing efforts by the ONS to enhance the IPHRP, as outlined in the "Future developments" section, emphasizing their commitment to refining the methodology and expanding geographical coverage to better meet user needs.
