Propertymark has released the first edition of a new rental tracker index.

It shows the North East of England offers the most affordable place to live in terms of rental costs, with the average rent sitting at £865 a month across the region.

London saw the largest decrease in the average salary needed to rent year on year at 1.9% decreasing from £73,050 in 2024 to £71,670 in 2025.

Yorkshire and Humberside saw the largest increase in the average salary needed to rent year on year at 8.1% rising from £27,990 in 2024 to £30,270 in 2025.

Outside of London, the most expensive place to rent is the South East at £1,497 a month, requiring a salary of £44,910 a year.

Propertymark says this monthly report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current private rented sector in the UK by examining the average agreed rental prices alongside the typical average annual salary required by referencing agencies to affordably rent across the country. 

By exploring these indicators, it aims to shed light on the affordability and accessibility of private rented housing relative to income levels.

Megan Eighteen, president of ARLA Propertymark, comments: “Year-on-year, rental rises have eased across many areas of the country. 

“Much of the private rented market has reached its peak when it comes to affordability, and coupled with slowly decreasing interest rates, this is starting to make rents soften slightly. 

“However, this will not be enough to bring down rents to more affordable levels across the board in the longer term.

“The private rental landscape is varied across the UK, with trends fluctuating drastically in some instances. However, one fact remains – there is a complete undersupply of available homes of all types and tenures, and other costs to landlords, such as the scrapping of mortgage interest relief and the introduction of endless red tape and licensing schemes have huge implications across the board and are contributing to the previous spikes seen in raised rent levels.

“Private rented homes have always played a crucial role in housing the nation, and a stream of professional, law-abiding landlords should be encouraged to help keep pace with growing demand rather than penalised by a continuous bombardment of financial and regulatory hurdles.”