SpareRoom data shows room rents in Stockport rose 10.4 percent in the year to the third quarter of 2026 to reach £717 a month, overtaking neighbouring Manchester where the average sits at £685, in data published on 11 November.
The flatshare site said the average UK room rent hit a record £769 a month in the third quarter, with new highs in seven of the nine UK regions, while room rental supply fell 4.7 percent year on year. A total of 21 towns and cities recorded rent rises of 3 percent or more.
Towns within easy reach of Manchester by rail dominate the top of the table, with Warrington up 7.4 percent, Preston up 4.0 percent and Bolton up 3.1 percent, pointing to tenants chasing value further from city centres as supply tightens. SpareRoom said flatsharers now face dwindling supply and record-high rents in the middle of a cost of living crisis, with landlords still reacting to the Renters’ Rights Act.
Stockport leads 21 towns with rents up 3 percent or more
Gloucester ranked second for rent rises at 7.7 percent to £642 a month, which SpareRoom suggested could reflect commuters seeking cheaper alternatives to Bristol at £746 and Cheltenham at £651. Warrington, Belfast at £624 and Edgware at £861 completed the top five.
Exeter saw room rents rise 4.5 percent to £681 after a sharp spike in demand, up 79.1 percent year on year, with nearby Exmouth recording the same demand jump. Bath at £853, Guildford at £835 and Enfield at £842 remain among the dearest room markets outside central London, while Hull at £507 and Preston at £534 sit at the cheaper end of the 21 risers.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on sharer landlords switching to room-only deals, which found 14 percent had moved away from joint tenancies since the Renters’ Rights Act took effect. The latest figures suggest that shift is happening against a backdrop of falling room supply and record rents rather than easing conditions.
Market-town demand doubles as rental supply falls
Renter demand is rising fastest in historic market towns. Demand in Chesham in Buckinghamshire, on the Metropolitan line less than an hour from London, almost doubled at 97.6 percent year on year, with 6.5 people now enquiring for every room available. Kettering was up 87 percent and Barnstaple up 82.1 percent, where SpareRoom noted short-term holiday lets can absorb stock and push residents towards sharing.
The highest absolute demand is in Bootle on Merseyside, with 16 people enquiring per room available, followed by Teddington at 11.5 and Carshalton at 11.2. Across the UK as a whole, demand edged up 1.8 percent year on year to 2.3 enquirers per room. UK rents hit a record £1,387 in September, underlining how pressure has built across both whole-property and room markets.
Matt Hutchinson, director at SpareRoom, said the way people rent is changing as rents outstrip what many can afford. “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,” he 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,” he said. The full dataset sits behind SpareRoom’s quarterly rental index.
What this means for landlords
- If you let rooms in commuter towns: Stockport, Warrington, Gloucester and Exeter show the strongest momentum, so review room rates against the Q3 benchmarks before fixing 2026 lets.
- Watch for: room-only demand holding up where joint tenancies look riskier under the new periodic-tenancy rules, plus holiday-let pressure in coastal spots such as Barnstaple.
- Bottom line: record £769 average room rents and 4.7 percent less supply favour well-presented rooms, but stretched affordability caps how far further rises can run.
Editor’s view
The spread of flatsharing into market towns is the real signal here, not just the record headline. Where supply keeps shrinking while sharers multiply, landlords offering decent rooms at fair rents will let fastest – pushing too hard simply hands tenants to the next town along.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 12 November 2026
Sources: SpareRoom
Related reading: SpareRoom finds 14% of sharer landlords switch to room-only since RRA
Renters’ Rights Act: Complete Landlord Guide
Everything you need to know about the new rules – 1 May 2026
