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, December 2023 & January 2024

Regional rental price inflation

This chart shows the annual growth rate in the IPHRP (private rental prices) for December & January in England; the English regions and in Wales. The IPHRP looks at all rents, not just new tenancy agreements. 

In January the CPI stood at 4.0%pa and CPI(H) was 4.2% - both unchanged from December. The IPHRP was also unchanged at 6.2%pa. The annual growth in rents has not fallen since January 2021 when the annual growth in rents fell from 1.4%pa to 1.3%pa.

In the English regions annual rental growth shows a mixed pattern: in five regions, the annual rate of increase rose – most notably in the West Midlands.

In two regions the rate fell, the fall in Yorkshire and the Humber was most notable.

In Wales, the annual rate of increase reduced slightly to 7.0%pa – this is the second consecutive month in which the annual rate has fallen.

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