Private sector rent statistics: 2010 - 2020

5. Main Findings for 3 Bedroom Properties

In the year to end September 2020, average 3 bedroom rents increased above CPI inflation of 0.5% in 10 out of 18 areas, with the largest increases being in Forth Valley (11.6%) and Argyll and Bute (13.2%).

Four areas saw little change (within +/-0.5%) in average rents compared with the previous year, including Aberdeen and Shire, Greater Glasgow, Highland and Islands and Perth and Kinross.

Average rents decreased by more than 0.5% in Dumfries and Galloway (-0.6%), West Lothian (-0.7%), Renfrewshire / Inverclyde (-1.3%) and Dundee and Angus (-1.5%).

Average rents for 3 bedroom properties at the Scotland level have increased by an estimated 2.2% between 2019 and 2020, to reach £844 in 2020. This compares to an increase in the UK Consumer Price Index of 0.5% in the year to Sept-20.

Figures on longer term changes to rents for 3 bedroom properties over the period from 2010 to 2020 should be considered in the context of the cumulative increase in the UK Consumer Price Index of 21.5% from Sept-10 to Sept-20.

Over the 10 year period from 2010 to 2020, nine areas have seen rent increases above the level of CPI inflation, ranging from an increase of 22.2% in Highland and Islands up to 46.4% in Lothian.

For the remaining nine areas of Scotland, cumulative increases have been below CPI inflation, and have ranged from 6.7% in North Lanarkshire to 19.1% in Aberdeen and Shire.

These regional trends combine to show an estimated 25.3% cumulative increase for 3 bedroom properties between 2010 and 2020, to reach £844 in 2020. See Table 3 and Chart 6 below.

For the year to end-September 2020, Lothian had the highest average monthly rents for 2 bedroom properties across Scotland (£1,344). Areas with the lowest average rents for 2 bedroom properties included North Lanarkshire (£585) and Dumfries and Galloway (£547). See Chart 7 below.