The Office of National Statistics Private Rental Market Statistics

Summary

The Office for National Statistics publishes rental data from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which published the data under its own brand until 2019. The ONS branded Private Rental Market Statistics are for England and published every six months based on data for around 500,000 rented properties..

Data

Information provided includes the median monthly rent over a 12-month period for different property types, from a room through to four or more bedroom properties. The figures are available for England as a whole, regionally and by local authority area. The published data also includes the average rent in the lower and upper quartiles in each area.

Methodology

The rental data is collected locally and nationally by the VOA's 85 rent officers and provided on a voluntary basis from landlords and letting agents. Around 12,000 sources of data are used. The information is entered into the VOA's central administrative system and a statistics team receives an extract to calculate the median agreed rents for each area and property type. Only cases with sufficient evidence of a transaction taking place are included.

Advantages

  • As the Official National Statistics record of rental prices its data is among the most respected and used by councils and charities as a valuable source of information.
  • The large size of the sample and the ability to breakdown the figures to local authority area make it among the most detailed rental price indices.
  • The impartiality of the rent officers who collect the data also add to its credibility

Disadvantages

  • Six-monthly publication makes it less up to date than other rental price indices
  • The data is poorly presented and has no analysis
  • The figures only cover England.

Verdict

The level of local detail on average rental prices and impartiality of the housing officers that collect the data make this a robust set of figures. However, the infrequent publication and poor presentation make it out of date and difficult for many consumers to understand.

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