How Much Rent Can I Charge?
Median advertised rent for the local authority, by bedroom count, with the quartile range around it — so you can see where a figure sits in the local market rather than guessing at it.
What these figures are, and what they are not
These are the median and quartile advertised private rents for the local authority, published by ONS from Valuation Office Agency data. The median is the middle of the local market: half of lettings at that bedroom count were advertised above it and half below. The lower and upper quartiles mark the middle half of the market, which is the range most properties in ordinary condition fall into.
They are not a valuation of a specific property. A local authority can cover both a city centre and a village twenty miles away, and condition, furnishing, parking, garden, EPC rating and the exact street all move a figure within — and sometimes outside — the quartile range. Treat the median as the anchor and the quartiles as the argument.
Frequently asked questions
- How much rent can I charge for my property?
- Start from the median for your bedroom count in the local authority, then move within the quartile range for condition and location. A refurbished flat near a station sits toward the upper quartile; a dated property on the edge of the area sits toward the lower one. Advertising far above the upper quartile usually means longer void periods, which cost more than the extra rent earns.
- Is there a legal limit on what I can charge?
- No. England and Wales have no rent caps for new private tenancies — you can advertise at any figure the market will bear. What is regulated is how and when you raise rent during an existing tenancy, which depends on the tenancy type and the notice procedure you follow.
- Why is my area's figure higher or lower than I expected?
- The figures are local-authority medians, so a large or mixed authority averages across very different neighbourhoods. If your postcode sits in an unusually expensive or cheap part of the authority, expect the true local figure to sit toward one of the quartiles rather than on the median.
- Which areas are covered?
- England and Wales. ONS and the Valuation Office Agency publish private rental statistics at local-authority level for both. Scotland and Northern Ireland use separate methodologies and are not covered here.
An estimate, not a professional valuation. For a mortgage or for legal purposes you will need a RICS-accredited surveyor.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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