Tenants spending a third of income on rent

Over a third (34%) of renters income is spent on renting a home, according to research from lettings platform Howsy.

Howsy looked at government data on rental costs across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and ONS data on the average salary to establish which rental market is the most affordable.

Overall Wales in the most affordable nation with rent taking up just 30% of the average monthly salary. Across the UK as a whole this increases to 34%.

The North East of England is the most affordable region after Wales with 31% of income spent on rental costs.

Unsurprisingly London is ranks worst on the affordability scale with the average cost of renting accounting for a 65% of the average salary.

On a local level, East Renfrewshire in Scotland is the UK’s best rental market for tenants with the average rental cost of £584 a month accounting for just 23% of the average wage of £2,509.

Calum Brannan, founder and CEO of Howsy, said: "We tend to put a lot of focus on the negatives of the UK lettings market but while top-line affordability may be an issue for many, there are plenty of areas where renting isn’t such a financial burden.

"Maximising your disposable income in any part of the UK is the key to living a happy life in the rental sector and it pays to do your research before making a move to ensure you can not only cover the cost of renting, but you aren’t left high and dry once you have.

"These are the best areas to look to in order to do this, but we appreciate for those working in London, a commute from East Renfrewshire is probably a tad unrealistic.

"However, we wanted to highlight the diversity of the UK rental sector and reassure those looking to rent that there are plenty of relative pockets of affordability across the nation.”

Behind East Renfrewshire Copeland is the second most affordable with just ¼ of the average wage spent on renting, along with Rhondda Cynon Taf and Pendle.

Hartlepool and Darlington trail marginally behind with 26% of income spent on rent, while Allerdale, Carmarthenshire, Barnsley, and Country Durham are home to a rental cost accounting for 27% of the average income.