Overview

• Median private renters spent 36.3% of income on an average-priced home in England in 2024, breaching the ONS 30% affordability benchmark.
• London was the least affordable region at 41.6%, with all ten least affordable local authorities in the UK located in the capital and Kensington and Chelsea at 74.3%.
• Outside London, Bristol, Bath and Brighton and commuter areas such as Sevenoaks and Watford also sat above the 30% threshold.
• The ONS reported affordability worsened as rents outpaced earnings, while Wales and Northern Ireland remained below the 30% mark and England’s North East was the most affordable region.
• Industry and campaign groups link the squeeze to landlord exits, higher borrowing costs and constrained building, citing London’s planning and building‑control bottlenecks and missed housing targets, and are urging rent regulation and broader supply measures.