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Revealed: The Most And Least Affordable Places To Rent Outside London

Not great news if you're looking to rent in Sussex.
By 

Parents editor at HuffPost UK

Property for rent in a London street.
Tim Grist Photography via Getty Images
Property for rent in a London street.

It’s no secret that a number of London boroughs are unaffordable to those living there – but outside the capital, the picture for renters is a little more unclear.

New data provided to HuffPost UK shows Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex are among the most unaffordable places to rent in the country, with renters forking out larger portions of their income on rent.

The data for England, Scotland and Wales, which is based on the 12-month period from July 2021 to June 2022, looked at places outside London where the highest median percentage of income is spent on rent.

A spokesperson for property market consultancy Dataloft, which conducted the analysis, said: “It provides a true picture of affordability of actual private renters in an area and is based on individual tenants rather than households.”

Spending 30% (or more) of income on rent is viewed as a threshold where tenants are more likely to be struggling.

The most unaffordable places – where median affordability is at or over 30% – are largely concentrated in London, including Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Brent. But interestingly, Brighton and Hove also makes the list.

The further away from London you travel, the cheaper rent becomes. Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington and Cumbria are among some of the most affordable places for renters, according to the analysis.

The least affordable places (outside London)

  1. Brighton and Hove

  2. East Sussex

  3. West Sussex

  4. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

  5. Southend-on-Sea

  6. Essex

  7. Thurrock

  8. Luton

  9. Kent

  10. Hertfordshire

The most affordable places

  1. Carmarthenshire

  2. Stockton-on-Tees

  3. Perth and Kinross

  4. Darlington

  5. Scottish Borders

  6. Inverclyde

  7. East Ayrshire

  8. North Lanarkshire

  9. Cumbria

  10. Falkirk

The under-30s are particularly impacted by unaffordable rent, with four in 10 people in this age group paying more than 30% of their wages on rent, according to a recent BBC news report.

It’s thought this is due to a shortage in rental properties, which is pushing up prices.

Places where tenants are spending more than 30% of income on rent

  1. Kensington and Chelsea

  2. Hammersmith and Fulham

  3. Brent

  4. Enfield

  5. Barking and Dagenham

  6. Havering

  7. Ealing

  8. Harrow

  9. Lambeth

  10. Westminster

  11. Barnet

  12. Croydon

  13. Newham

  14. Brighton and Hove

  15. Bexley

  16. City of London

  17. Redbridge

  18. Wandsworth

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