Rents surge in commuter towns as work-from-home flat sharers seek to escape cost of cities like Manchester and Bristol

Room rents are climbing in commuter towns as tenants seek to escape the cost of living in a big city, data shows. It now costs a record £769 per month to rent a room in Britain, according to the flat share website Spareroom.Rent in seven out of nine British regions reached new highs in the three months to September, and 21 towns and cities saw rents go up at least 3 per cent year-on-year. Based on the £769 average rent, a 3 per cent increase would be £23 per month. The cost rise in these locations has been driven by extra competition for rented rooms, as the number available fell 4.7 per cent year-on-year.Spareroom also said renters were being pushed beyond major cities into commuter and market towns due to high costs and lack of supply.This has been supported by working from home, which means tenants living further out don't have to travel to the office every day. We reveal which towns and cities are seeing the starkest rises and which are in highest demand.Stockport, a historic industrial town six miles from Manchester, is leading the charge with an eye-watering 10.4 per cent year-on-year rise in room rents. Rent rise: Stockport in Greater Manchester has seen the biggest increase in room rentsNow, the average rent in Stockport costs £717 a month, exceeding Manchester’s average at £685 a month.Other towns in easy reach of Greater Manchester are also among the biggest risers. Tenants in Warrington saw rents rise 7.4 per cent, Preston was up 4 per cent and Bolton, 3.1 per cent.Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, said: ‘As rents increasingly outstrip what people can afford, the way people rent is changing.‘Some renters are chasing value further afield enabled by flexible working, while others are living where they want to, but they’re now sharing instead of renting solo.‘That’s why flatsharing is no longer an inner-city phenomenon; it has spread to historic market towns, seaside communities, and just about every corner of the UK.’Gloucester saw the second biggest rent hikes at 7.7 per cent, reaching £642. This could be due to commuters looking for cheaper alternatives to Bristol, as the average room rent there costs £746 per month.A rental supply shortage in Exeter this year has pushed room rents up 4.5 per cent year-on-year, Spareroom said. The city has seen one of the highest rises in demand in the UK, up 79.1 per cent.On the whole, rents in Britain went up by 1 per cent year-on-year. UK towns and cities that have seen highest rent rises Town/cityAverage monthly room rent, Jul-Sept 2026 Average monthly room rent, Jul-Sept 2025Year-on-year rent change 1. Stockport £717 £649 10.4 per cent 2. Gloucester£642 £597 7.7 per cent 3. Warrington £625 £582 7.4 per cent 4. Belfast £624 £585 6.8 per cent 5. Edgware £861 £808 6.6 per cent 6. Bracknell£721 £681 5.9 per cent 7. Rugby £619 £587 5.4 per cent 8. Basingstoke £682 £652 4.7 per cent 9. Exeter £681 £651 4.5 per cent 10. Enfield £842 £807 4.3 per cent 11. Woking £805 £773 4.2 per cent 12. Grays £774 £715 4.1 per cent 13. Preston £534 £513 4 per cent 14. Worthing £735 £707 3.9 per cent 15. Bath £835 £821 3.8 per cent 16. Guildford £835 £805 3.7 per cent Landlord sell-off leads to supply squeezeThe number of rented homes on the market is being squeezed as more landlords decide to sell their properties. It means remaining landlords can charge more, especially if there are several tenants competing for each available room. Landlords have been subject to increased taxes and regulations in recent years, and many have seen their profits take a hit. Most recently, the Renters' Rights Act was introduced in May this year which handed tenants the greatest increase in rights in a generation. It means there are stricter rules around how and when landlords can evict tenants or raise the rent. Hutchinson said: 'The rental market has been rattled by landlords reacting to the Renters’ Rights Act, and flatsharers are now contending with dwindling supply and record-high rents, in the middle of a cost of living crisis.'Where do tenants face the most competition?Renter demand in the Buckinghamshire market town of Chesham – on the Metropolitan line and less than an hour from London – has almost doubled in the last year, going up by 97.6 per cent.There are now 6.5 people enquiring about every room available to rent here.Demand is up 87 per cent in Kettering, Northamptonshire, a town which offers sub-£600 rents, and a high-speed connection to London St Pancras.In third place is Barnstaple, North Devon, up 82.1 per cent where the average room rent is now £627 per month.Near the coast, short-term holiday lets can consume rental supply for residents, putting upward pressure on rents, and flatsharing becomes the affordable choice for many tenants who would otherwise be priced out. This is Money podcast