- Stockport leads the charge (+10.4% year on year) on rent rises; the average rent here (£717/month) is now higher than Manchester's (£685/month).
- Renter demand in Buckinghamshire market town Chesham, less than an hour from London by train, has doubled year on year (+97.6%), the highest rise in the UK.
- A huge spike in demand (+79.1%) has pushed Exeter room rents up 4.5% year on year.
- The highest renter demand in the UK is now in the Merseyside town of Bootle (16 people enquiring per room available to rent).
In the third quarter of 2026, the average UK room rent hit a record high of £769/month, and rents reached new highs in seven of the UK's nine regions. At the same time, room rental supply fell 4.7% year on year, according to SpareRoom's rental index.
At town and city level, 21 locations1 have seen a 3%+ year-on-year rent rise in the third quarter of 2026, with Stockport leading the charge (+10.4%). The average rent in Stockport (£717/month) is now higher than Manchester's average rent (£685/month). Warrington (+7.4%), Preston (+4%) and Bolton (+3.1%), all within easy reach of central Manchester by rail, are also among the UK's highest risers for rent.
Ranking second for the UK's highest rent rises is Gloucester (+7.7%), which could be due to commuters looking for cheaper alternatives to Bristol (£746/month) and Cheltenham (£651/month).
A rental supply shortage in the face of huge demand in Exeter in Q3 has pushed room rents up 4.5% year on year. The city has seen one of the highest rises in demand in the UK (+79.1%). It's also affecting nearby Exmouth, which has also seen one of the highest demand increases in the country (+79.1%), as shown in table 2.
This table shows 21 UK towns and cities that have seen a 3%+ rent rise in the year to Q3 2026, alongside current demand levels1:
| UK town/city | Average monthly room rent Q3 2026 | Average monthly room rent Q3 2025 | YOY rent change | Demand (no. of enquirers per room available) in Q3 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stockport | £717 | £649 | 10.4% | 5.7 |
| 2 | Gloucester | £642 | £597 | 7.7% | 4.4 |
| 3 | Warrington | £625 | £582 | 7.4% | 4.2 |
| 4 | Belfast | £624 | £585 | 6.8% | 3.8 |
| 5 | Edgware | £861 | £808 | 6.6% | 7.7 |
| 6 | Bracknell | £721 | £681 | 5.9% | 5.5 |
| 7 | Rugby | £619 | £587 | 5.4% | 3.9 |
| 8 | Basingstoke | £682 | £652 | 4.7% | 4.7 |
| 9 | Exeter | £681 | £651 | 4.5% | 6.3 |
| 10 | Enfield | £842 | £807 | 4.3% | 4.5 |
| 11 | Woking | £805 | £773 | 4.2% | 5.8 |
| 12 | Grays | £744 | £715 | 4.1% | 4.5 |
| 13 | Preston | £534 | £513 | 4.0% | 3.5 |
| 14 | Worthing | £735 | £707 | 3.9% | 4.0 |
| 15 | Bath | £853 | £821 | 3.8% | 3.9 |
| 16 | Guildford | £835 | £805 | 3.7% | 4.7 |
| 17 | Southall | £818 | £790 | 3.6% | 6.2 |
| 18 | Hull | £507 | £491 | 3.4% | 3.2 |
| 19 | High Wycombe | £707 | £685 | 3.1% | 3.4 |
| 20 | Bolton | £573 | £556 | 3.1% | 5.5 |
| 21 | Worcester | £582 | £565 | 3.0% | 3.8 |
| Whole of UK | £769 | £762 | 1.0% | 2.3 | |
Highest-rising renter demand in market towns
The strongest renter demand in the UK is currently in the Merseyside town of Bootle, where 16 people are now enquiring per room available to rent. But it's where demand is rising most that indicates where rents are most likely to increase next.
The table below shows the 10 towns/cities where demand has risen by more than 50% year on year in the third quarter of 2026. The top three locations are all market towns.
Renter demand in the Buckinghamshire market town of Chesham - on the Metropolitan line and less than an hour from London - has almost doubled (+97.6%), the highest rise in the UK. There are now 6.5 people enquiring about every room available to rent here.
Demand is up 87% in Kettering, Northamptonshire, a town which offers sub-£600 rents, and a high-speed connection to London St Pancras.
In third place is Barnstaple, North Devon (+82.1%), where the average room rent is now £627/month. Near the coast, short-term holiday lets can consume rental supply for residents, putting upward pressure on rents, and flatsharing becomes the affordable choice for many tenants who would otherwise be priced out.
This table shows the 10 towns/cities where demand has risen by more than 50% in the year to Q3 2026:
| Town/City | Average monthly room rent Q3 2026 | Demand (no. of enquirers per room available) Q3 2026 | Demand (no. of enquirers per room available) Q3 2025 | YOY demand change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chesham | £770 | 6.5 | 3.3 | 97.6% |
| 2 | Kettering | £587 | 6.8 | 3.6 | 87.0% |
| 3 | Barnstaple | £627 | 7.0 | 3.9 | 82.1% |
| 4 | Redcar | £551 | 4.6 | 2.6 | 79.8% |
| 5 | Carshalton | £791 | 11.2 | 6.2 | 79.3% |
| 6 | Exeter | £681 | 6.3 | 3.5 | 79.1% |
| 7 | Exmouth | £734 | 11.1 | 6.2 | 79.1% |
| 8 | Teddington | £854 | 11.5 | 6.6 | 72.7% |
| 9 | Accrington | £489* | 8.9 | 5.4 | 65.2% |
| 10 | Sheerness | £644 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 57.6% |
| Whole of UK | £769 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 1.8% | |
*Average rent based on low sample size.
Matt Hutchinson, director at flatshare site SpareRoom, comments: “The rental market has been rattled by landlords reacting to the Renters' Rights Act, and flatsharers are now contending with dwindling supply and record-high rents, in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
“As rents increasingly outstrip what people can afford, the way people rent is changing. Some renters are chasing value further afield enabled by flexible working, while others are living where they want to, but they're now sharing instead of renting solo. That's why flatsharing is no longer an inner-city phenomenon; it has spread to historic market towns, seaside communities, and just about every corner of the UK.”