Rental price data by UK region

Dyddiad y datganiad:
22 November 2023

FOI ref: FOI-2023-1529

You asked

Could you please provide rental price data by region? 

Wales has not published data since 2020, but the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) continues to have index values for Wales, so there must be data still produced. Is this publicly accessible?

We said

Thank you for your request. 

We currently have two measures of private rental prices at the Office for National Statistics. 

  1. The Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP). This publishes a monthly measure of inflation, by UK, country, and region. However, this doesn't provide any rental levels. The latest IPHRP can be found via the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/indexofprivatehousingrentalprices/september2023 

  2. We publish Private Rental Market Statistics (PRMS) twice per year. PRMS are point-in-time rental-price estimates for England, English regions and English local authorities. Current methodology limitations prevent compositional changes from being considered, so it is not appropriate to compare PRMS estimates year-on-year to infer trends in the rental market, and a price index cannot currently be produced. The latest PRMS release can be found via the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/bulletins/privaterentalmarketsummarystatisticsinengland/april2022tomarch2023 

  3. We are developing a new measure of private rental prices, that will hopefully be published in early 2024. This will aim to provide a monthly measure of private rental inflation and price levels, by country, region, and local authority level (so Wales price levels will be available). See https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/privaterentalpricesdevelopmentplan/updatedfebruary2022 

  4. In the meantime, private rental price levels may be available from Welsh Government but this is not updated regularly: https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Housing/Private-Sector-Rents. Welsh Government can be contacted at rentofficerhelpdesk@gov.wales to respond to questions relating to their publication. 

If you have any further requests or questions, please contact us direct at hpi@ons.gov.uk.

Gwneud cais Rhyddid Gwybodaeth

Everything you need to know about Freedom of Information and how to go about making a request.