"Those navigating the market today will tell you affordable accommodation is scarce and only meaningful decreases would make life easier, so the fact rents are stabilising is far from a silver lining"
- Matt Hutchinson - SpareRoom
Bootle recorded the largest rent rise in Q4 2025, with average room rents up 18% year on year.
The largest average rent increases in UK towns and smaller cities during Q4 2025 were recorded in northern England, the Midlands, and Scotland.
Bootle, a town in Merseyside long known as the cheapest place to rent in the UK, saw room rents surge 18% year on year in Q4, the highest increase nationwide.
Across the country, average UK rents edged up 0.5% year on year, while London recorded a slight decline of 0.9%. However, SpareRoom warns that only substantial falls in rent will ease the pressure on people spending 40-50% of their income on housing.
The steepest increases were concentrated outside major cities. SpareRoom’s Q4 2025 rental index shows that towns and smaller cities in Scotland, northern England, and the Midlands experienced the largest rises, with Liverpool the only notable exception among bigger cities.
In Scotland, average rents fell slightly by 0.2% in Q4, but certain towns bucked the trend. Perth (+7.4%), Paisley (+5.7%), Livingston (+6.7%), and Kirkcaldy (+6.1%) all recorded notable rises. These towns still offer significantly lower rents than Edinburgh (£778 per month) and Glasgow (£690 per month).
Northern England also saw sharp increases. Bootle’s average rent now stands at £527 per month, an 18% rise from Q4 2024, and it has dropped out of the top 10 cheapest UK towns for renting a room. Burnley, Lancashire, has overtaken it with faster-growing rents.
Nearly half of the towns and cities popular with flatsharers that experienced rent growth above 5% year on year in Q4 are in northern England. West Yorkshire town Keighley, previously known for affordability, saw room rents climb 14% year on year to nearly £600 per month.
Rents are also rising quickly in Cheshire. Widnes, well connected to both Manchester and Liverpool, recorded a 12.8% increase in average rents over the year.
The Midlands experienced some of the highest year-on-year increases. Stourbridge rents jumped 17.7%, while Wolverhampton rose 9.6%. For those leaving Birmingham in search of cheaper options, Stourbridge may no longer be an attractive alternative. Its average rent of £649 per month now exceeds Birmingham’s, which fell 2% to £618 per month in Q4. Wolverhampton, however, remains more affordable at £553 per month.
“Those navigating the market today will tell you affordable accommodation is scarce and only meaningful decreases would make life easier, so the fact rents are stabilising is far from a silver lining," comments Matt Hutchinson, director at SpareRoom.
He added, "In terms of affordability, too many renters are at breaking point, spending half their income on rent. The high cost of living is pushing people into traditionally more affordable areas and away from major cities, which, of course, means these areas won’t be affordable for much longer. A laser-focus on boosting supply to the rental market is our best way out of the housing crisis.”
