Average rent in South East
The average private rent in South East was £1,438 a month in September 2026, up 3.5% 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
£1,438
a month, September 2026
Annual change
+3.5%
UK: +3.8% (−0.3pp)
Monthly change
+0.8%
not seasonally adjusted
Rank by rent
2 of 9
English regions, highest first
In brief
The average private rent in South East was £1,438 a month in September 2026, up 3.5% on a year earlier (£48 a month more than in September 2025). That is £32 above the UK average of £1,406, and rents rose 0.3 percentage points more slowly than across the UK (3.8%). South East has the 2nd highest average rent and the 2nd slowest annual rent growth of England's nine regions.
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 8.1% in March 2024; a year ago it was 4.9%. Over the five years since September 2021, the ONS rent index for South East rose 31.8%; the average rent then was £1,091 a month.
By size, the average was £1,000 for one-bedroom homes, £1,284 for two-bedroom homes, £1,566 for three-bedroom homes and £2,231 for homes with four or more bedrooms. By property type, rents for semi-detached houses rose fastest (3.9%) and for flats and maisonettes slowest (3.1%). Across its 64 local authorities, average rents ranged from £953 in Isle of Wight to £1,957 in Oxford.
South East: £1,091 in September 2021, £1,438 in September 2026. UK: £1,406 in September 2026. Series starts January 2015.
In September 2026: South East +3.5%, UK +3.8%, CPI actual rents +4.2%. South East's annual change peaked at 8.1% in March 2024.
Compared with the UK and CPI rents
| September 2026 | South East | UK | CPI actual rents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average rent a month | £1,438 | £1,406 | – |
| Annual change | +3.5% | +3.8% | +4.2% |
| Rank of England's 9 regions: rent | 2 | – | – |
| Rank of England's 9 regions: annual change | 8 | – | – |
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 | £1,438 | £1,390 | +3.5% |
| One bedroom | £1,000 | £967 | +3.4% |
| Two bedrooms | £1,284 | £1,239 | +3.6% |
| Three bedrooms | £1,566 | £1,507 | +4.0% |
| Four or more bedrooms | £2,231 | £2,165 | +3.0% |
| Detached | £2,003 | £1,937 | +3.4% |
| Semi-detached | £1,589 | £1,529 | +3.9% |
| Terraced | £1,459 | £1,407 | +3.7% |
| Flat or maisonette | £1,154 | £1,120 | +3.1% |
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 local authority in South East
All 64 local authorities, September 2026. Select a column heading to sort.
| Area | Average rent | Annual change | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford | £1,957 | +2.4% | £1,346 | £1,662 | £2,030 |
| Elmbridge | £1,885 | +2.7% | £1,259 | £1,584 | £1,932 |
| Sevenoaks | £1,828 | +6.9% | £1,278 | £1,596 | £1,948 |
| Brighton and Hove | £1,816 | −0.8% | £1,194 | £1,525 | £1,806 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £1,801 | +0.7% | £1,245 | £1,568 | £1,918 |
| Guildford | £1,754 | +5.7% | £1,197 | £1,557 | £1,887 |
| Spelthorne | £1,726 | +7.1% | £1,252 | £1,609 | £1,873 |
| Epsom and Ewell | £1,713 | +4.1% | £1,197 | £1,498 | £1,896 |
| Reigate and Banstead | £1,652 | +3.2% | £1,149 | £1,493 | £1,832 |
| Tandridge | £1,649 | +5.7% | £1,166 | £1,476 | £1,846 |
| Woking | £1,628 | −1.0% | £1,138 | £1,450 | £1,770 |
| Runnymede | £1,600 | +0.9% | £1,093 | £1,406 | £1,687 |
| Reading | £1,582 | +1.3% | £1,120 | £1,399 | £1,680 |
| Dartford | £1,580 | +3.2% | £1,095 | £1,424 | £1,716 |
| Slough | £1,567 | +2.3% | £1,142 | £1,426 | £1,716 |
| Mole Valley | £1,565 | +3.8% | £1,149 | £1,469 | £1,873 |
| Tunbridge Wells | £1,543 | +5.0% | £1,062 | £1,414 | £1,714 |
| Winchester | £1,514 | +4.8% | £1,021 | £1,325 | £1,633 |
| Surrey Heath | £1,510 | +2.0% | £1,041 | £1,340 | £1,621 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | £1,500 | +3.6% | £1,039 | £1,343 | £1,639 |
| Crawley | £1,495 | +3.2% | £1,071 | £1,392 | £1,652 |
| Horsham | £1,490 | +4.8% | £1,033 | £1,366 | £1,718 |
| Buckinghamshire | £1,486 | +5.8% | £1,043 | £1,321 | £1,616 |
| Bracknell Forest | £1,481 | +2.4% | £1,080 | £1,362 | £1,666 |
| Waverley | £1,470 | −0.6% | £1,065 | £1,364 | £1,647 |
| Wokingham | £1,469 | +0.7% | £1,056 | £1,348 | £1,650 |
| Mid Sussex | £1,436 | +4.3% | £1,018 | £1,302 | £1,636 |
| Hart | £1,418 | +3.2% | £1,025 | £1,306 | £1,586 |
| South Oxfordshire | £1,418 | +5.2% | £1,053 | £1,307 | £1,634 |
| Adur | £1,416 | +3.3% | £1,003 | £1,305 | £1,614 |
| Rushmoor | £1,391 | +4.3% | £982 | £1,274 | £1,539 |
| Portsmouth | £1,374 | +2.9% | £903 | £1,139 | £1,366 |
| Vale of White Horse | £1,369 | +4.8% | £998 | £1,245 | £1,522 |
| West Berkshire | £1,355 | +6.2% | £948 | £1,232 | £1,532 |
| Milton Keynes | £1,346 | +4.0% | £979 | £1,219 | £1,455 |
| Gravesham | £1,345 | +5.0% | £915 | £1,209 | £1,476 |
| Lewes | £1,343 | +5.4% | £930 | £1,226 | £1,518 |
| Chichester | £1,340 | +3.5% | £953 | £1,229 | £1,517 |
| Cherwell | £1,316 | +3.2% | £984 | £1,229 | £1,485 |
| West Oxfordshire | £1,315 | +3.6% | £961 | £1,218 | £1,531 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | £1,312 | +1.1% | £932 | £1,213 | £1,471 |
| Maidstone | £1,303 | +3.0% | £922 | £1,199 | £1,468 |
| Worthing | £1,300 | −0.6% | £891 | £1,184 | £1,432 |
| Canterbury | £1,288 | +5.8% | £880 | £1,138 | £1,377 |
| Wealden | £1,266 | +1.8% | £898 | £1,147 | £1,433 |
| East Hampshire | £1,265 | +2.0% | £903 | £1,182 | £1,488 |
| Southampton | £1,261 | +3.7% | £883 | £1,117 | £1,363 |
| Ashford | £1,253 | +3.2% | £898 | £1,148 | £1,414 |
| New Forest | £1,249 | +2.0% | £868 | £1,138 | £1,398 |
| Arun | £1,240 | +3.7% | £855 | £1,149 | £1,407 |
| Test Valley | £1,236 | +4.6% | £888 | £1,144 | £1,409 |
| Medway | £1,235 | +1.6% | £897 | £1,140 | £1,340 |
| Eastleigh | £1,219 | +3.7% | £864 | £1,115 | £1,368 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | £1,189 | +10.0% | £812 | £1,041 | £1,298 |
| Fareham | £1,179 | +1.2% | £833 | £1,076 | £1,334 |
| Eastbourne | £1,174 | +1.9% | £823 | £1,083 | £1,313 |
| Gosport | £1,173 | +3.8% | £825 | £1,049 | £1,279 |
| Rother | £1,164 | +1.1% | £802 | £1,029 | £1,294 |
| Havant | £1,159 | +4.1% | £857 | £1,092 | £1,364 |
| Swale | £1,127 | +1.1% | £788 | £1,042 | £1,260 |
| Thanet | £1,125 | +4.0% | £777 | £1,010 | £1,237 |
| Dover | £1,037 | +10.2% | £739 | £966 | £1,184 |
| Hastings | £1,008 | +1.7% | £697 | £898 | £1,102 |
| Isle of Wight | £953 | +6.8% | £664 | £874 | £1,092 |
See also the cost of living calculator and CPI housing inflation.