Forget London, Oxford is the UK’s worst place to rent

July 2, 2020

The latest data on the cost of renting from the Office for National Statistics was released last week showing that rents in England have increased to their highest level on record.

While the average rent in London is double that of the national average, the latest research by lettings and estate agent Barrows and Forrester has found that London isn’t the least affordable rental market when it comes to rent as a percentage of income.

Based on the latest data, their research shows that the average UK tenant is spending 47% of their monthly net income (£2,039) to cover the average cost of £959 in rent.

At a regional UK level, tenants in London are paying the most, with 62% of the average London salary required to cover the monthly cost of renting. In contrast, tenants in Wales and the South East are paying less than half that (30%).

However, when breaking the UK down on a local level London takes a back seat to Oxford where the issue of rental affordability is concerned.

With a monthly net salary of £1,946 and rental costs coming in at an average of £1,588 per month, tenants in Oxford are spending 82% of their monthly income on renting.

There are a further 17 areas of the UK where the average rent accounts for 60% or more of the average monthly income, with the capital accounting for 14 of these least affordable rental markets.

Hackney is the least affordable of all London boroughs and second least affordable behind Oxford, with 78% of the average income spent on rent.

Outside of London, Exeter (67%) Brighton and Hove (66%) and Epping Forest (60%) also make the list of least affordable rental markets.

Location
Average rent (pm)
Net salary (pm)
Rent as % of net salary
London
£1,644
£2,639
62%
South East
£999
£2,251
44%
South West
£818
£1,866
44%
East of England
£862
£2,124
41%
Scotland
£748
£1,944
38%
West Midlands
£671
£1,894
35%
Northern Ireland
£627
£1,798
35%
East Midlands
£639
£1,884
34%
Yorkshire and the Humber
£614
£1,831
34%
North West
£629
£1,885
33%
North East
£542
£1,799
30%
Wales
£539
£1,792
30%
United Kingdom
£959
£2,039
47%
Least affordable rental markets
Location
Average rent (pm)
Net salary (pm)
Rent as % of net salary
Oxford
£1,588
£1,946
82%
Hackney
£1,842
£2,360
78%
Westminster
£3,046
£4,038
75%
Lambeth
£1,908
£2,565
74%
Newham
£1,453
£2,007
72%
Haringey
£1,669
£2,350
71%
Camden
£2,302
£3,387
68%
Brent
£1,502
£2,217
68%
Exeter
£1,201
£1,801
67%
Barking and Dagenham
£1,208
£1,816
67%
Brighton and Hove
£1,360
£2,054
66%
Hammersmith and Fulham
£2,117
£3,209
66%
Ealing
£1,569
£2,431
65%
Southwark
£1,718
£2,717
63%
Islington
£2,003
£3,195
63%
Enfield
£1,292
£2,114.96
61%
Epping Forest
£1,369
£2,261.61
61%
Barnet
£1,499
£2,498.08
60%
Least affordable rental markets excluding London
Location
Average rent (pm)
Net salary (pm)
Rent as % of net salary
Oxford
£1,588
£1,946
82%
Exeter
£1,201
£1,801
67%
Brighton and Hove
£1,360
£2,054
66%
Epping Forest
£1,369
£2,262
61%
Bath and North East Somerset
£1,223
£2,050
60%
Bristol
£1,175
£1,974
60%
Midlothian
£1,084
£1,887
57%
Cambridge
£1,250
£2,186
57%
East Lothian
£1,084
£1,949
56%
Three Rivers
£1,280
£2,347
55%
Mole Valley
£1,268
£2,327
54%
West Oxfordshire
£1,108
£2,038
54%
Harlow
£1,006
£1,853
54%
Crawley
£1,004
£1,856
54%
Chiltern
£1,455
£2,744
53%

Properganda PR

National and local media coverage for property businesses. Journo quotes delivered in minutes.

You May Also Enjoy

Home and Living

5 trends driving London’s landscaped gardens

London gardens can add more than £205,000 in value as Chelsea tops table for prime buyers seeking outdoor space Ahead of this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, research by Enness Global has revealed that a garden can add more than £205,000 to the value of a London home, whilst Chelsea fittingly boasts the highest degree of…
Read More →
how to present your property for sale
Breaking News

Six in 10 tenants say Renters’ Rights Act improves their housing protections and conditions

Awareness of the Renter’s Rights Act 2025 has increased amongst tenants from 19 per cent in October after the bill passed, to 60 per cent when it came into effect 19 per cent of renters are now more likely to remain in their current property but 45 per cent are concerned about the legislation’s long-term…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

West Oxfordshire tops list of first-time hotspots defying national trend

New analysis by the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals the first-time buyer hotspots where buyer demand is increasing, bucking the national trend over the last month West Oxfordshire leads the way, with demand for typical first-time buyer properties up by 45% year-on-year: A 37% increase in available first-time buyer type homes for sale and…
Read More →
Breaking News

ONS Private Rent and House Prices Index- May 2026

The latest ONS house price figures show that the sales market that is broadly flat. Average UK house prices were unchanged year-on-year at £268,000 in March 2026, with annual house price inflation slowing from 1.7% in February to 0.0% in March. Main points Average UK monthly private rents increased by 3.5%, to £1,381, in the…
Read More →
Overseas Property

Cyprus in demand as international property inquiries spike

Interest in Cyprus has more than tripled since the start of March, while sales to non-EU buyers have spiked by more than a fifth Cyprus is the best option for residency by investment in a major EU Mediterranean country, after Spain closed its Golden Visa in April 2025 and Portugal closed the property route in…
Read More →
Breaking News

Inflation falls to 2.8%

Industry response to the latest inflation figures and their impact on the housing market.   Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark “It is very welcome news to see inflation dip this month; however, today’s figures still sit some distance away from the Bank of England’s target rate of 2%. It remains important to consider continued overall…
Read More →