How much rent can I charge?

How rent is worked out

There's no official rent for a property. The right rent is what a tenant will pay on the open market for a home like yours, in your location, at the time you let it. Letting agents work this out by looking at similar homes that have recently let nearby, then adjusting for your property's size, condition and features.

The averages this checker shows come from the Office for National Statistics Price Index of Private Rents, which tracks the rents tenants actually pay across each council area. They're a reliable starting point, but they cover every type of property in a whole council area, so your own figure could be higher or lower.

Setting your asking rent under the new rules

Since 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act has changed how landlords in England set and raise rent. You must advertise a fixed asking rent, you can't invite or accept offers above it, and you can't take rent before the tenancy agreement is signed. After that, rent can only be increased once a year using a formal section 13 notice, and tenants can challenge increases above the market rate.

That makes the starting rent more important than ever. Pitch it too high and the property sits empty; pitch it too low and you can't simply correct it at the next renewal. Read our guide to increasing rent under the Renters' Rights Act.

Rents and letting agents by area

See local rents, the rules for landlords and the agents that cover each area.