Flat-sharing website SpareRoom says supply across the UK is beginning to look under threat.
This is as the Renters Rights Act appears to be discouraging some landlords.
The UK average room rent barely moved in the year to Q1 2026, and now stands at £747 per month.
This picture is consistent across much of the country with the South West of England seeing the biggest change of any region: rents here are up 1.5% on the previous year to £677 per month.
However, six UK cities have seen year-on-year rent rises of 6% or higher: Carlisle (+8%), Inverness (+7%), Gloucester (+6%), Durham (+6%), Worcester (+6%) and Salisbury (+6%).
The table below shows UK average room rents by country/region and the YOY change:
| Country/Region | Average monthly room rent Q1 2026 | Average monthly room rent Q1 2025 | Year-on-year change |
| South West | £677 | £666 | 1.5% |
| Wales | £588 | £584 | 0.8% |
| Northern Ireland | £568 | £565 | 0.6% |
| East Midlands | £568 | £565 | 0.6% |
| North West | £610 | £607 | 0.5% |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | £560 | £559 | 0.3% |
| South East | £744 | £745 | -0.1% |
| West Midlands | £585 | £586 | -0.1% |
| North East | £549 | £550 | -0.1% |
| Scotland | £673 | £676 | -0.4% |
| East Anglia | £674 | £679 | -0.6% |
| London | £978 | £983 | -0.5% |
| UK | £747 | £746 | 0.1% |
| UK (excl London) | £668 | £665 | 0.5% |
The table below shows the top 10 highest-rising cities for rent in the year to Q1 2026:
| City | Average monthly room rent Q1 2026 | Average monthly room rent Q1 2025 | Year-on-year change |
| Carlisle | £565 | £521 | 8.4% |
| Inverness | £667 | £624 | 6.9% |
| Gloucester | £624 | £588 | 6.0% |
| Durham | £620 | £586 | 5.9% |
| Worcester | £585 | £553 | 5.8% |
| Salisbury | £685 | £649 | 5.5% |
| Preston | £546 | £519 | 5.3% |
| Perth | £541 | £514 | 5.2% |
| Bradford | £488 | £464 | 5.1% |
| Lancaster | £581 | £555 | 4.6% |
The table below shows the UK’s most and least expensive towns and cities outside inner London:
| UK’s most expensive towns/cities | UK’s least expensive towns/cities | ||
| Town/City | Average monthly room rent Q1 2026 | Town/City | Average monthly room rent Q1 2026 |
| Twickenham | £902 | Stockton-on-Tees | £459 |
| Kingston upon Thames | £884 | Burnley | £469 |
| Esher | £855 | Middlesbrough | £472 |
| Barnet | £850 | Huddersfield | £484 |
| Epsom | £825 | Bradford | £488 |
| Bath | £821 | Barnsley | £490 |
| Oxford | £821 | Scunthorpe | £497 |
| Staines | £816 | Craigavon (incl Lurgan & Portadown) | £497 |
| St. Albans | £816 | Grimsby | £498 |
| Brentwood | £812 | Blackburn | £499 |
Room rental supply growth slows
Looking at room ads placed by landlords and letting agents in the month of January – the biggest month of the year for new flatshare ads – there are early signs flatshare supply may be under threat.
Although supply has grown for the past three consecutive years, supply growth in the year to January 2026 dropped to +4.2% from +13.8% growth in the year to January 2025.
This comes just ahead of the phasing in of the Renters’ Rights Act from 1 May.
SpareRoom director Matt Hutchinson comments: “Landlords have been telling us of their plans to quit the market or reduce their portfolios for many months but, until now, we’ve not seen that reflected in supply, which has been trending upwards since the aftermath of the pandemic.
“Slowing room supply growth is of huge concern when rooms in flatshares are such a critical source of affordable housing.
lats“If the supply-demand imbalance gets any worse, UK rents – which, although stable are already hugely inflated due to post-pandemic demand – will start to rise again. We’re concerned this may be the calm before the storm.”
