The Data Observatory

The NRLA Data Observatory is a collection of official and other well-established data sources which when combined, provide a narrative of the Private Rented Sector (PRS). The NRLA tracks approximately 45 key data sets which are updated monthly, quarterly and annually. A selection of these appear in these pages.

Our Deep Insight blog provides a regular extension of the analysis which appears here, as well as those datasets which are not published in the Data Observatory section of this website.

The blog pages also features blog posts from other organisations and academics to provide insight on the PRS. Here you can also find more in-depth summaries of our regular reports and surveys.

Regional PRS data

Table 1: Annual rental price growth, August & September 2023

This chart shows the annual growth rate in the IPHRP (private rental prices) for August & September across the English regions and in Wales. The IPHRP looks at all rents, not just new tenancy agreements. New tenancy arrangements form the basis of analysis undertaken by larger property agents.

In September the CPI stood at 6.7%pa and the CPI(H) was 6.3%pa – both unchanged from August. Even though these indices are now some way off their highs, rental growth - 5.7%pa for the UK as a whole – continues to be below these wider price indices. You have to go back to March 2021 to find the IPHRP last exceeding these two measures of inflation.  

The stand-out data in the above chart is that of Wales. Macro-economic factors, regulation change and the fear of rent controls are all combining to reduce supply and increase rents. Twelve months ago (Sept 2022), the index for Wales stood at just 2.7%pa. These figures now being recorded by Wales are the largest yet seen by the IPHRP across England & Wales.

In England, London recorded the highest ever annual price change for an English region – 6.2%pa.

Table 2: Weekly rents (Median) across the regions

Data collection for this survey took place between April 2020 and March 2021. This rent information is therefore not a snapshot at a moment in time, but reflects rent levels across the entire research period. Given data collection problems with this specific version of the Family Resources Survey (FRS), time-series comparisons at a regional level are not necessarily meaningful. There is certainly a discrepency between the changes in regional rent levels since the previous FRS and the regional price indices data reported above. 

However the survey remains useful regionally as a comparative tool:

• Rent levels across the northern regions remain noticably lower than those in the midlands and then, in turn southern regions in England.
• The North East - one of the regions in which Landlord Confidence (measured by the NRLA) often lags the national average - has the lowest rent levels among the England regions.
• London remains the location with the highest rents in England - more than double that of each of the northern regions as well as Wales.

Each of the above observations are consistent with the previous Family Resources Survey.

Note that some of the data in this section is subject to updates and revision by UK statistical agencies.  The NRLA may, or may not, update this secton as data is revised