Household money
Rents rose 3.8% in a year. The April pay award was 3.3%.
UK private rents rose 3.8% in the year to August 2026, outpacing inflation at 3.1% and the 3.3% council pay award.
3.8% UK rent rise, year to August
The average private rent in the UK was £1,400 a month in August 2026. It rose 3.8 per cent over the year, ahead of both inflation at 3.1 per cent and the 3.3 per cent council pay award that took effect in April. The Office for National Statistics published the figures on 16 September 2026.
The annual rent rise was 3.7 per cent in July, so it sped up slightly. Inflation went the same way, from 2.9 per cent in July to 3.1 per cent in August.
Where the rise landed
| Nation | Average monthly rent | Annual rise |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £1,400 | 3.8% |
| England | £1,459 | 4.0% |
| Wales | £846 | 4.3% |
| Scotland | £1,013 | 1.1% |
| Northern Ireland | £874 | 1.6% |
Within England the spread is wider than the national figure suggests. The North East and North West both rose 5.8 per cent, the fastest in the country. The South East was slowest at 3.0 per cent. London rents rose 3.5 per cent, from the highest base — an average of £2,332 a month against £788 in the North East, nearly three times the rent for the same month.
What it does to a pay rise
Take the UK average. The ONS puts the same figure a year earlier at £1,348, so the rise is £52 a month, or £624 over a year.
Now take a salary of £26,000 — a little above the bottom of the NHS scale in England, where band 2 starts at £25,272. A 3.3 per cent rise on that is £858 a year before anything comes off it.
So on those figures the rent increase absorbs nearly three quarters of the gross pay rise — and the pay rise is the side that gets taxed. Income tax, National Insurance and a pension contribution all come out of the £858. Nothing comes out of the £624. The NHS take-home calculator will show what a rise is worth after deductions for a given band.
If you are on the council spine, the award and the point values are on our NJC pay award page.
What the 3.8% is not
Two things worth knowing before you compare your own rent with it.
First, it is an average across all privately rented homes, new lets and existing tenancies together. Most tenancies do not change in any given month. A figure that blends the ones that moved with the ones that did not is not a forecast of what a renewal letter will say.
Second, the four nations are not measured identically. In England and Wales the ONS collects rents actually being paid, on both new and existing tenancies. Scottish data has been predominantly newly advertised lets, and Northern Ireland’s is newly advertised lets only. Northern Ireland’s underlying data also stops at June 2026: the ONS estimates the two most recent months from recent average inflation. The bulletin itself advises caution when comparing Scotland and Northern Ireland with the rest of the UK, so reading Scotland’s 1.1 per cent as the same kind of number as England’s 4.0 per cent is the easiest mistake to make here.
Where these figures come from
- Private rent and house prices, UK: September 2026 — Office for National Statistics
- Private rent and house prices, UK: September 2026 (release) — Office for National Statistics
- Consumer price inflation, UK: August 2026 — Office for National Statistics
- Pay negotiations 2026-27 — South East Employers
- Pay scales for 2026/27 — NHS Employers
Every figure traces to a dated document — the line this section is named after. If one here is wrong, tell us and it gets fixed publicly. Work out your own figures.