After four consecutive years of growth in the number of households offering rooms to lodgers, lodger room ads decreased in January 2026, falling 2.5% year on year, according to new data from flat share site SpareRoom.
Room offered ads posted by those renting out rooms in their own homes represent just over a quarter (26%) of all ads on the platform. The growth rate slowed considerably between January 2024 and 2025 and is now in decline, as shown in the table below.
| Time Period | YOY change in number of rooms advertised to lodgers |
| Jan 2022 | 10.68% |
| Jan 2023 | 14.62% |
| Jan 2024 | 19.33% |
| Jan 2025 | 1.46% |
| Jan 2026 | -2.51% |
The chart below shows the number of new lodger ads in the month of January (the busiest month of the year for new lodger ads) since 2012. The peak in January 2017 came after the amount of tax-free income that lodger landlords could earn was increased to £7,500 per year in 2016.
Back then, the UK’s average monthly room rent was £573, keeping earnings well within the threshold limit which equates to £625 per month.
Over the past five years, however, the UK average room rent has risen 29% from £580 per month in Q4 2020 to £749 per month in Q4 2025.
To return supply to levels seen when the Rent a Room scheme was last updated, SpareRoom is calling on the Government to raise the tax-free threshold to reflect rents today and incentivise more under-occupied households to rent rooms to lodgers. It also wants to see the loophole that allows holiday lets to use the scheme closed.
There are currently 2.41 renters searching per room available to rent in the UK, with demand dramatically higher in the most popular areas. However, there are also an estimated 28 million empty bedrooms in England, Wales and Scotland. While not everyone is in a position to rent these out, freeing up just 5% of those rooms would provide affordable accommodation for 1.4M people1.
Motivations for renting out rooms
Renting out rooms to lodgers doesn’t just boost supply to the rental market; it helps households that may be struggling with the cost of living. In a January 2026 SpareRoom survey of 325 lodger landlords, the most common reason people were renting out rooms in their homes – cited by 51% – was to help meet day-to-day costs such as food shopping, bills, or running their cars.
25% relied on their lodger income to cover their mortgage repayments; 28% were either saving for retirement or topping up their pension incomes; 12% were paying off debts or loans.
Although many are financially motivated, there are also social incentives as 69% of lodger landlords would be living alone if it weren’t for their lodgers. More than a fifth (22%) cite companionship or friendship as a reason they rent out rooms in their homes. Close to a quarter (23%) enjoy the security of having someone in their home when they’re travelling; 9% like having someone on pet-feeding or plant-watering duty.
In terms of their employment status, 43% of lodger landlords are retired. In terms of age, six in 10 are in their 60s or 70s. A quarter are in their 50s when children are most likely to fly the nest. The remaining 15% are under 50. Four in 10 lodger landlords who own their properties have mortgages to repay, while six in 10 are mortgage-free.
“In the middle of a housing crisis, we should be doing everything possible to protect supply in the rental market, whether it comes from landlords or homeowners," explained SpareRoom director Matt Hutchinson. "Lodger landlords and the rooms they offer make up a sizeable wedge of the flatshare market and although renting as a lodger doesn’t suit everyone, the flexibility and often cheaper rents are a draw."
He added, “The last time the Rent a Room scheme was altered, supply rose and remained at healthy levels until the pandemic. A booster shot in the arm is what’s needed now. We know the administrative burden of having to fill out a tax return does deter people from renting out rooms, so the tax-free threshold needs to reflect rents today."
"But we also want to stop those running holiday lets from using the scheme, so we can divert supply into the rental market. We shouldn’t be incentivising short-term holiday stays when there’s such a large supply-demand imbalance in the rental market. We need housing, not hotel rooms.”
