The average UK room rent reached a record £769 a month in the third quarter of 2026, according to SpareRoom.

Average rents rose 1% from £762 a year earlier, while the number of rooms advertised fell by 4.7% year on year.

The decline in supply marks a reversal from recent years. Room adverts had increased by 8.2% in the year to the third quarter of 2025, following rises of 20.1% in 2024 and 19.4% in 2023.

Room rents reached record levels in seven of the nine English regions covered by SpareRoom’s figures, with Greater London and the North East the exceptions.

SpareRoom also revealed today that the average rent for a room in one of the eight main London postcodes hit £1,002 per month.

The South West recorded the largest annual increase, with average room rents rising 2.3% to £689 a month.

Rents increased by 1.8% to £576 in the East Midlands, while East Anglia and the South East both recorded rises of 1.2%, taking average rents to £687 and £709 respectively.

Greater London remained the most expensive region at £932 a month, up 0.6% year on year, while the North East was the cheapest at £554, broadly unchanged from a year earlier.

At country level, Northern Ireland recorded the strongest growth, with average room rents rising 7% to a record £600.

Average rents in Scotland increased 1.1% to a record £726, while England rose 1% to a record £775. Wales recorded a 0.9% increase to £593.

Among the UK cities with the highest levels of flatshare supply, Belfast recorded the biggest annual rent increase at 6.8%, taking the average to £624.

Exeter followed with a 4.5% rise to £681. SpareRoom says demand for flatshares in the city increased by 79% year on year amid a shortage of on-campus accommodation.

At the other end of the table, average rents in Swansea fell 3.6% to £525, while Manchester recorded a 2.1% decline to £685.

SpareRoom director Matt Hutchinson says: “Those navigating the rental market today will find they’re faced with inflated prices and shrinking supply. The pressure is coming from several directions.”

He adds: “Affordable housing is supposed to be a political priority, yet the outlook for meaningful improvement is bleak as the Government hasn’t yet acknowledged these problems in the rental market.

“The Renters’ Rights Act is a solid step in terms of tenant security, but there has to be a second push to tackle affordability, otherwise renters end up in secure tenancies they still can’t afford.”

The figures are based on more than 241,000 UK room adverts. Calculations use the mean advertised asking rent including bills.