Generation Rent and the Renters’ Reform Coalition are urging the government to take action to slam the brakes on soaring rents this ‘Cost of Rent Day’, with over four months of renters’ income in a year now going directly to their landlord.
‘Cost of Rent Day’ marks the day at which, on average, all of a renter’s income to that point is sent to their landlord. This is calculated by correlating the average percentage of income renters spend on rent with the same proportion of the calendar year.
On average, private renters in England spend 36% of their gross income on rent according to the ONS. This year, 11th May marks the 131st day or 36% of the year. This means, across the whole of 2026, the average renter will send their landlord all their gross earnings from 1st January to 11th May, over four months of their pay or benefits.
For renters in major cities like London and Bristol, the situation is even more dire. ‘Cost of Rent Day’ in London falls on 2nd June, meanwhile in Bristol it falls even later on 10th June. The local authority area where ‘Cost of Rent Day’ falls latest in the year is Kensington and Chelsea in West London, on September 26th.
The Guardian recently reported the Chancellor Rachel Reeves was considering implementing a rent freeze in response to rising inflation caused by the conflict in Iran. However, the government has since dismissed the idea.
Analysis by the House of Commons Library found from the 1960s to the early 1980s private renters spent on average around 10% of their income on rent in most of the country, and around 15% in London, demonstrating how dramatically rents have increased in comparison to people’s incomes since then*. Meanwhile, owner occupiers with a mortgage on average spend just 19% of their income on housing costs, while social housing tenants spend 27% of their income on rent on average.
Ben Twomey, Chief Executive of Generation Rent said:
“Homes are the foundations of our lives. But when we are forced to spend too much of our income on rent, it means children are going to school hungry or older renters who can’t afford to turn the heating on. High rents trap people in homelessness and suck money out of local communities.
“It’s not right that over four months of our income every year is being swallowed up by landlords. While it was encouraging to see the government recognise this through its recent consideration of a rent freeze, we need to see longer-term action.
“Renters in some of our biggest cities are facing the most back breaking costs. The government must urgently give metro mayors the power to slam the brakes on soaring rents through limiting rent increases.”
A household paying the average rent in England will now send over £68,000 to their landlord in just four years. In London, where rents are highest, this rises to over £109,000.
HMRC records show that only 41% of private landlords declare mortgage interest payments on their tax return. Meanwhile, data from the DWP found more than a third of private renters are living in poverty.
Maud, a renter in London who lives her husband and two children, said:
“I wasn’t expecting the harshness of renting in London, even Paris is nowhere near as expensive. When the landlord’s wife lost her job last year we got a 30% rent hike just before Christmas. We had to just pay it as we didn’t want to get evicted.
“Both my husband and I are working full time, I even work another job on the weekends, but we have no money left over at the end of each month. The fairy tale of working hard to be able to buy a home is gone.”
Clara Collingwood, Director at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said:
“The fact that the average renter in England works for over a third of the year just to put money in their landlord’s pockets shows just how unsustainable the cost of renting has become. Skyrocketing rents are pushing renters into poverty – our research has found nearly a third of tenants struggle to afford essentials due to the cost of rent. And while section 21 evictions have finally been banned in England, for many renters unaffordable rent increases will have exactly the same effect, forcing people out of their homes and communities.
“The government need to take real action to make renting more affordable and get a grip on out-of-control rents – relying on housebuilding alone won’t get the job done.”
*The analysis is available in a 2018 report by Onward UK; the most recent House of Commons analysis is available here.
