Most expensive UK city to rent outside of London revealed

St Albans has been named the most expensive city to rent outside of London, with average advertised rents of £2,307 per month.

Oxford came in second, with rents averaging £2,237 per calendar month (pcm), while Cambridge is the third most expensive, with average advertised rents of £2,072 pcm, according to figures from property site Rightmove (RMV.L).

The national average advertised rent (outside London) is now a record £1,349 per calendar month, 5% higher than last year. This puts the average rent in St Albans some 71% over the UK average.

Meanwhile, Carlisle is the most affordable city to rent in, with average advertised rents at £791 pcm, 41% below the national average.

Read more: UK rental prices rise four times higher than inflation

Rightmove’s property expert, Tim Bannister, said: “The rental divide across Great Britain is clear, with an average difference of just over £1,500 between the most expensive and cheapest cities.

"Many of these cities have seen rental growth of over 40% over the past five years, meaning it’s likely to be a significant consideration when students are thinking about where to study, and those who have already graduated working out if they can afford to stay in that city and find a job.”

Winchester (£2,049), Brighton (£2,040) and Edinburgh (£1,778) all feature on the list of the most expensive cities to rent in the UK.

At the other end of the scale, Hull is the second cheapest city to rent, with average rents of £804. Sunderland comes in third (£807) in a list where the average rent is under £1000 for all cities with the exception of Wakefield.

Angharad Trueman, ARLA Propertymark president said: “As rents continue to rise across the UK, this report for students should play an important factor when looking to study in order to assess their affordability.

“Students need to ensure they do their research on the area, taking into consideration the location, expenditure and budget as well as vetting out any potential letting agents in the area."

Separate data from the Office for National Statistics has said that in August 2024, the average private rent across Britain was £1,286 per month, an increase of £100 or 8.4% compared with 12 months earlier.

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This is almost four times that of inflation, which rose 2.2% in August.

In London, rents rose by 9.6% annually in August, which was below a record of 11.2% in March 2024.

The ONS data showed that last month, the highest average rent was in the Kensington and Chelsea area at £3,418.

Average rents increased to £1,327 in England — an increase of 8.5% in the 12 months to August 2024. They increased to £752 (8.5%) in Wales, and £969 (7.6%) in Scotland in the same time period.

In Northern Ireland, average rents increased by 9.9% in the 12 months to June 2024.

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