What’s considered “affordable” when it comes to rent can be dictated by the “30% rule”* - the idea that your rent shouldn’t cost more than 30% of your income. But, in 2025, that rule is becoming less realistic.
To comfortably rent a room in the UK, you’d need to earn at least £30,120 a year. If you rent in London, you’ll need closer to £40K+ to stay within the 30% ratio. This means the average 22-29-year-old is officially priced out of renting in places like London, Edinburgh, Oxford, Bath, and Cambridge, according to recent data from SpareRoom, showing that for many young renters, the 30% rule isn’t a realistic benchmark anymore.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Average salary for 18–21 year-olds = £22,001/year.**
“Affordable” rent = £550 per month. - Average salary for 22–29 year-olds = £31,200/year.
“Affordable” rent = £780 per month. - Mid-point average salary for under 30s = £26,600/year.
“Affordable” rent = £665 per month.
The monthly budget (£780) for 22 to 29-year-olds is enough to cover the UK average room rent (£753pm), but falls short of the London average rent (£995pm) by £2,580 per year. A middle-earner under 30 with a budget of £665pm would have to 'find' an additional £1,056 per year to cover the UK average rent.
However, there are still plenty of towns and cities where the cost of renting is considered affordable for salaries of £22,001 including: Liverpool, Swansea, Wolverhampton and Aberdeen***. To compare your salary, see our latest Q3 2025 data of average rents in UK towns and cities.
So, how are people affording their rent?
One way that young people are tackling the affordability issue is to avoid renting altogether. In 2024, one third of men and 22% of women aged 20 to 34 lived with their parents - a figure that’s grown by nearly 10% over the past decade. According to SpareRoom data, renters aged 18-24 have decreased. In 2014, this age group made up around a third (32%) of the users on SpareRoom. A decade later, this had dropped to just over a quarter (27%). As for 25 to 34-year-olds, they made up 45% of the flatshare market in 2014, a figure that had dropped to 42% 10 years later, as the presence of older age groups in the market increased****.
For those who do decide to fly the nest, a SpareRoom survey of 3,775 renters showed that they are getting additional help to afford their rent:
- 22% of under-30s had dipped into their overdraft
- 17% had taken on a second job
- 26% needed a deposit loan from family to get started
- 19% needed ongoing financial help to pay monthly rent
In reality, the 30% affordability rule has been unrealistic for a long time. When rents take up 40% or even 50% of income, affording them is challenging, and saving for a deposit is out of the question. This doesn't just delay life plans. If you can't meet other unexpected costs, then you're more prone to debt. And when disposable income is severely reduced, there are knock-on effects for mental health and isolation. It's not only sky-high rents that exclude more under-30s today; there are other barriers to entry. Not everyone can save a deposit equivalent to five weeks' rent, and many parents can't afford to help either.
But there’s still hope
The affordability crisis is very real, but so is the pressure for change. It’s sparking conversation for what “affordable” housing should look like. New measures detailed in the upcoming Renters' Rights Bill plan to ban the practice of asking for rent in advance - sometimes as much as 12 months' worth - which will level the playing field for renters. Tenants will also be able to challenge annual rent increases, which can be reduced if the proposed rent is deemed to be above the market value.
To find out more about how the upcoming Renters' Rights Bill will improve rights for tenants read our latest blog.