Average rent in Scotland
The average private rent in Scotland was £1,011 a month in September 2026, up 0.7% on a year earlier. The UK average was £1,406 (+3.8%).
Updated Latest data: September 2026 · ONS release 21 October 2026 · Data fetched 2 November 2026, 10:17 GMT
Average rent
£1,011
a month, September 2026
Annual change
+0.7%
UK: +3.8% (−3.1pp)
Monthly change
−0.1%
not seasonally adjusted
Rank by rent
2 of 4
UK nations, highest first
In brief
The average private rent in Scotland was £1,011 a month in September 2026, up 0.7% on a year earlier (£7 a month more than in September 2025). That is £395 below the UK average of £1,406, and rents rose 3.1 percentage points more slowly than across the UK (3.8%). Scotland has the 2nd highest average rent and the slowest annual rent growth of the four UK nations.
For comparison, the CPI measure of actual rents for housing, which covers the whole UK, rose 4.2% in the year to September 2026. Annual rent growth has slowed from a peak of 11.7% in August 2023; a year ago it was 3.4%. Over the five years since September 2021, the ONS rent index for Scotland rose 31.6%; the average rent then was £768 a month.
By size, the average was £702 for one-bedroom homes, £912 for two-bedroom homes, £1,168 for three-bedroom homes and £1,951 for homes with four or more bedrooms. By property type, rents for flats and maisonettes rose fastest (1.5%), while rents for detached houses fell 1.5%. Across its 18 broad rental market areas, average rents ranged from £556 in Dumfries and Galloway to £1,411 in Lothian.
Scotland: £768 in September 2021, £1,011 in September 2026. UK: £1,406 in September 2026. Series starts January 2015.
In September 2026: Scotland +0.7%, UK +3.8%, CPI actual rents +4.2%. Scotland's annual change peaked at 11.7% in August 2023.
Compared with the UK and CPI rents
| September 2026 | Scotland | UK | CPI actual rents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average rent a month | £1,011 | £1,406 | – |
| Annual change | +0.7% | +3.8% | +4.2% |
| Rank of the 4 UK nations: rent | 2 | – | – |
| Rank of the 4 UK nations: annual change | 4 | – | – |
Ranks count from the highest rent and the fastest annual rise. CPI actual rents for housing (ONS series D7GQ) is a UK-wide measure and has no average rent.
By bedrooms and property type
| Home | Average rent a month | A year earlier | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All properties | £1,011 | £1,004 | +0.7% |
| One bedroom | £702 | £685 | +2.5% |
| Two bedrooms | £912 | £897 | +1.6% |
| Three bedrooms | £1,168 | £1,158 | +0.9% |
| Four or more bedrooms | £1,951 | £1,915 | +1.9% |
| Detached | £1,551 | £1,575 | −1.5% |
| Semi-detached | £1,073 | £1,069 | +0.4% |
| Terraced | £1,003 | £999 | +0.4% |
| Flat or maisonette | £840 | £827 | +1.5% |
Bedroom and property type groups overlap (a two-bedroom flat counts in both). The annual change is ONS's index-based figure, so it can differ slightly from the change between the rounded average rents.
Rents by rental market area in Scotland
All 18 broad rental market areas, September 2026. Select a column heading to sort.
| Area | Average rent | Annual change | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lothian | £1,411 | +1.0% | £1,036 | £1,324 | £1,700 |
| Greater Glasgow | £1,266 | +1.1% | £845 | £1,091 | £1,340 |
| East Dunbartonshire | £1,170 | +5.6% | £734 | £956 | £1,296 |
| West Dunbartonshire | £923 | +1.6% | £563 | £749 | £939 |
| West Lothian | £914 | +9.3% | £621 | £839 | £1,105 |
| South Lanarkshire | £894 | +1.3% | £555 | £742 | £976 |
| Forth Valley | £881 | +1.1% | £596 | £811 | £1,061 |
| Fife | £847 | +4.7% | £568 | £751 | £984 |
| Aberdeen and Shire | £844 | −1.2% | £602 | £777 | £965 |
| Dundee and Angus | £826 | +0.8% | £573 | £752 | £986 |
| Argyll and Bute | £806 | −4.0% | £551 | £739 | £960 |
| Renfrewshire/Inverclyde | £805 | −1.8% | £515 | £677 | £871 |
| North Lanarkshire | £800 | −3.5% | £504 | £665 | £863 |
| Perth and Kinross | £749 | +2.3% | £519 | £689 | £911 |
| Highland and Islands | £736 | +3.3% | £536 | £710 | £934 |
| Scottish Borders | £715 | −0.4% | £479 | £635 | £829 |
| Ayrshires | £642 | +1.3% | £459 | £594 | £775 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | £556 | +5.6% | £426 | £562 | £756 |
See also the cost of living calculator and CPI housing inflation.