Rent Index methodology
Every rent figure on this site comes from one source, and we would rather show you exactly what it does and does not measure than present a number without context.
Where the data comes from
All figures are taken from the Office for National Statistics — Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics, published by the Office for National Statistics. It is an official National Statistic, not a portal’s asking-price sample.
The current snapshot covers data up to August 2026 and was retrieved on 2026-09-18.
What the figures measure
The ONS price level is the average monthly rent actually being paid across the whole private rental stock — both new lettings and existing tenancies that have been running for years.
This matters, and it is the single most common misreading of rent data. Because most tenancies are not new, the average sits below what you will typically be asked to pay for a property advertised today. If you are searching right now, treat these figures as a baseline for the market, not a prediction of your rent.
For comparison, the median asking rent across the listings on this site is typically higher than the ONS average for the same area, for exactly this reason.
Geographic coverage
We publish 32 of London’s 33 local authorities, plus a London-wide figure (£2,332 as of August 2026) and an England comparison.
The City of London is not published separately. Its resident private rental sample is too small for the ONS to produce a reliable estimate. Rather than interpolate a number or quietly omit the area, its page shows London-wide figures with that limitation stated on the page.
Bedroom and property-type bands
The ONS publishes one, two, three, and “four or more” bedroom bands. There is no separate studio series, and four-, five- and six-bedroom properties are combined into a single band — so our “4+ bed” figure covers all of them rather than four-bedroom homes alone.
Property-type figures cover flats and maisonettes, terraced, semi-detached and detached houses.
How often it updates
The ONS releases new data monthly, roughly two weeks after the end of the reference month. We re-ingest and republish after each release. Every page carries the reference period and the retrieval date, so you can always tell how current a figure is.
Rounding and missing values
Rent levels are shown to the nearest pound and annual changes to one decimal place. Where the ONS suppresses a value or does not publish one, we show “n/a” — we never substitute a zero or carry an old figure forward.
Limitations worth knowing
- Borough averages hide large variation within a borough — a Camden average spans both Hampstead and Kentish Town.
- The figures lag the market, because existing tenancies are included.
- Rooms in shared houses are not separated out, despite being a large share of London’s rental market.
- Short lets and purpose-built student accommodation are outside the scope of the index.
Licence and reuse
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The source data is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. You are welcome to cite or reproduce our tables with a link back to the relevant page. If you are a journalist or researcher who needs a cut of this data we do not publish, get in touch.
Corrections
If you believe a figure here is wrong, please tell us — we will check it against the source and correct it.