Metric permalink

Rent to income ratio

Official

Part of the Housing and Household Formation domain. New-let private rent as a share of gross income, measuring the affordability burden of entering the private rented sector.

Latest data

Latest reading

Latest value

36.3% of gross income on new-let private rent

FYE 2024

Previous value

34.2% of gross income on new-let private rent

+39 pts

Change between the two latest observations (2023 to FYE 2024), in stress score.

Direction of badnesshigher is worse

A higher reading is treated as worse for this indicator.

Score composition

Stress score

53/100

Since the August 2026 release

+1 ptsfrom 52 to 53

What changed on this indicator between the two releases: method only.

Blended from two measured components: (2/3 weight) and trend (1/3 weight); where no trend can be computed the metric is scored on its level alone. Volatility is published as a diagnostic and does not enter the blend. Full formula on the methodology page.

Level · 2/3 weight

39percentile

Percentile: this metric is scored against its own history, where today sits between its best and worst recorded years.

Trend · 1/3 weight

81deteriorating

Measured from the direction and size of the change between the two most recent readings.

Volatility · diagnostic, not blended

Measured from how much this indicator has swung period on period across its recorded history.

Data confidence and provenance

Confidence and source

0.80Medium0.80

How much weight to put on the reading, the mean data-confidence across the component metrics (source quality, recency and completeness).

Source

Office for National StatisticsOfficial

Housing affordability statistics

Update frequency: Annual
Reliability: high

View source series ↗

Provenance

Provider: ONS
Series ID: private rental affordability, England
Frequency: annual
Accessed: 13 June 2026

Known weakness

New-let rents diverge significantly from renewal rents, so this measure overstates the burden for long-term tenants while understating entry barriers for new renters.

Notes

Verified official value from ONS (private rental affordability, England), accessed 2026-06-13.

Historical values

History

Period	Value	Relative
2016	39.4
2017	39.2
2018	39
2019	37
2020	35.4
2021	38
2022	35.7
2023	34.2
2024	36.3