Average rent in South West
The average private rent in South West was £1,251 a month in September 2026, up 4.2% 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
£1,251
a month, September 2026
Annual change
+4.2%
UK: +3.8% (+0.4pp)
Monthly change
+0.5%
not seasonally adjusted
Rank by rent
4 of 9
English regions, highest first
In brief
The average private rent in South West was £1,251 a month in September 2026, up 4.2% on a year earlier (£51 a month more than in September 2025). That is £155 below the UK average of £1,406, and rents rose 0.4 percentage points faster than across the UK (3.8%). South West has the 4th highest average rent and the 5th fastest 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 7.3% in April 2024; a year ago it was 5.3%. Over the five years since September 2021, the ONS rent index for South West rose 32.3%; the average rent then was £945 a month.
By size, the average was £833 for one-bedroom homes, £1,070 for two-bedroom homes, £1,305 for three-bedroom homes and £1,881 for homes with four or more bedrooms. By property type, rents for semi-detached houses rose fastest (4.7%) and for flats and maisonettes slowest (3.8%). Across its 26 local authorities, average rents ranged from £792 in Torridge to £1,893 in Bath and North East Somerset.
South West: £945 in September 2021, £1,251 in September 2026. UK: £1,406 in September 2026. Series starts January 2015.
In September 2026: South West +4.2%, UK +3.8%, CPI actual rents +4.2%. South West's annual change peaked at 7.3% in April 2024.
Compared with the UK and CPI rents
| September 2026 | South West | UK | CPI actual rents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average rent a month | £1,251 | £1,406 | – |
| Annual change | +4.2% | +3.8% | +4.2% |
| Rank of England's 9 regions: rent | 4 | – | – |
| Rank of England's 9 regions: annual change | 5 | – | – |
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 | £1,251 | £1,200 | +4.2% |
| One bedroom | £833 | £800 | +4.1% |
| Two bedrooms | £1,070 | £1,026 | +4.4% |
| Three bedrooms | £1,305 | £1,247 | +4.6% |
| Four or more bedrooms | £1,881 | £1,814 | +3.7% |
| Detached | £1,613 | £1,551 | +4.0% |
| Semi-detached | £1,365 | £1,304 | +4.7% |
| Terraced | £1,279 | £1,225 | +4.4% |
| Flat or maisonette | £982 | £946 | +3.8% |
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 West
All 26 local authorities, September 2026. Select a column heading to sort.
| Area | Average rent | Annual change | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath and North East Somerset | £1,893 | +7.5% | £1,212 | £1,530 | £1,820 |
| Bristol, City of | £1,893 | +5.7% | £1,230 | £1,551 | £1,769 |
| South Gloucestershire | £1,474 | +4.9% | £1,006 | £1,283 | £1,567 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | £1,400 | +2.2% | £918 | £1,170 | £1,458 |
| Exeter | £1,318 | +0.2% | £914 | £1,130 | £1,362 |
| Cheltenham | £1,269 | +6.1% | £875 | £1,103 | £1,364 |
| Cotswold | £1,263 | +6.3% | £877 | £1,115 | £1,356 |
| North Somerset | £1,212 | +3.1% | £822 | £1,082 | £1,350 |
| Gloucester | £1,122 | +6.8% | £748 | £976 | £1,219 |
| Tewkesbury | £1,106 | +14.4% | £755 | £990 | £1,258 |
| Swindon | £1,103 | +5.0% | £825 | £994 | £1,227 |
| Wiltshire | £1,091 | +5.8% | £755 | £981 | £1,231 |
| Dorset | £1,059 | +4.2% | £733 | £969 | £1,194 |
| Stroud | £1,047 | +6.5% | £747 | £966 | £1,184 |
| Somerset | £1,021 | +6.3% | £695 | £918 | £1,142 |
| South Hams | £1,014 | +3.0% | £738 | £922 | £1,141 |
| Plymouth | £1,008 | +4.4% | £707 | £889 | £1,069 |
| Cornwall | £995 | +0.9% | £685 | £877 | £1,073 |
| East Devon | £977 | +6.6% | £691 | £904 | £1,133 |
| Teignbridge | £965 | +3.6% | £657 | £873 | £1,091 |
| Torbay | £924 | +3.7% | £621 | £819 | £1,001 |
| Mid Devon | £881 | +1.5% | £643 | £812 | £999 |
| West Devon | £854 | +3.9% | £608 | £778 | £961 |
| North Devon | £848 | −0.3% | £590 | £780 | £967 |
| Forest of Dean | £828 | −0.9% | £594 | £800 | £961 |
| Torridge | £792 | +2.1% | £567 | £742 | £912 |
See also the cost of living calculator and CPI housing inflation.