Average UK private rents rose faster than house prices in the year to September 2026, reaching £1,406 per month, according to new Office for National Statistics data.
Private rents climbed 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to September 2026 — more than four times the rate at which house prices grew. The ONS figures, published in its October 2026 bulletin on private rent and house prices, show the average UK house price reached £273,000 in August 2026, a 0.9 per cent annual rise. That growth rate had already slipped from 1.2 per cent recorded in July 2026.
The gap between the two measures tells a clear story for anyone renting rather than buying. At £1,406 per month on average, private rents are rising at a pace well above house-price inflation, putting sustained pressure on tenants whose costs are outrunning the broader property market.
Both estimates are provisional. The house-price figure relates to August 2026 and the rent figure to September 2026, with the bulletin scheduled for release on 21 October 2026. The UK House Price Index is produced jointly by the ONS and HM Land Registry and covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with breakdowns available at regional and local-authority level.
Kent’s own figures offer useful context, though they predate the latest ONS period. Kent County Council data for 2024 put the average house price across the county at £400,679 — above the 2024 national average of £365,107, according to ONS figures for that year (note that this 2024 Kent figure is not directly comparable with the current UK average of £273,000, which relates to August 2026). Prices ranged sharply within Kent, from £608,243 in Sevenoaks to £312,211 in Thanet. Overall property prices in Kent reportedly fell by 1.7 per cent during 2024, compared with the modest national rise recorded since — though editors should verify this figure against the Kent County Council housing bulletin before publication.
The ONS index allows direct comparisons between local-authority areas and national trends. So for prospective buyers in Sevenoaks, the current national average is less than half the local one, based on 2024 local data compared with the latest national figure — a gap that the latest data does nothing to close.
Source: @ONS