Renting on one wage
Alex
28 · one adult · private renter
−£113
a month: the income runs out after housing, bills and debts
See Alex’s month →← Cost of living
Cost of living · Who is affected · UK · 1996 and 2025 data
Who is better off than 30 years ago, and who is worse off?
On typical full-time pay, someone renting and saving for a home keeps 30p of each £1 for everything else, against 48p 30 years ago. Someone who owns outright is better off. Meet three people and seven households: what comes in, what goes out, what they owe, and what Budget 2026 means for them.
Evidence last reviewed 29 October 2026
Three people, three answers
Kyle, 24
Low pay · lives alone · renting
Worse off than 30 years ago
+57%
more of his take-home pay goes on rent than for someone in his place 30 years ago
Kyle works full time in a warehouse on about £23,918 a year, close to the National Living Wage. He rents on his own and is trying to save. The same job, at the same point in the pay scale, paid £9,394 30 years ago. His pay has risen about 2.8 times. The average rent has risen 4.3 times.
Measure 30 years ago Now Take-home pay, a month £626 £1,728 Average private rent, a month £310 £1,345 Rent as a share of take-home pay 50% 78% Budget 2026 · How does it help me?
The Treasury estimates households in income group 3 of 10 (1 is the lowest) gain about £70 a year on average (2027-28), counting tax, benefits and public services.
- Support for Energy Bills: No VAT on his electricity from October 2026 to July 2027.
- Bus Fares: Single bus fares capped at £2 outside London for a year from January 2027, if he takes the bus to work.
- Your First Home: A new equity loan for first-time buyers from April 2027, once he has a deposit.
What this leaves out
Rent is the UK average for all private lets, including London, set against one person's pay. Many people on low pay share a home to bring this down. Kyle has no help from benefits in this example.
The Budget figure is the Treasury’s average for households with a similar income and make-up, not this person’s exact gain.
Chloe, 33
Middle pay · new baby · renting and saving to buy
Worse off than 30 years ago
+28%
more of her take-home pay for the same life as 30 years ago
Chloe is a nurse on the typical full-time wage, £39,863 a year (April 2025). She has just had her first baby and wants to buy. To save a deposit on the average home she needs 13.6 years, not 2.3. Owning it takes about 49 years from her first saving, not 27.
Measure 30 years ago Now Years of take-home pay to own the average home 10.0 20.3 Deposit £5,342 £87,897 The home, pence in each £1 (modelled, spread over the years to own) 37p 74p Budget 2026 · How does it help me?
The Treasury estimates households in income group 5 of 10 (1 is the lowest) gain about £43 a year on average (2027-28), counting tax, benefits and public services.
- Your First Home: A new equity loan for first-time buyers from April 2027 could cut the deposit she needs.
- Household Energy Payment: £100 off council tax from January 2027 if her rented home is in bands A to D.
- Support for Energy Bills: No VAT on electricity from October 2026 to July 2027.
What this leaves out
One earner, no help from family. Childcare is not in the model, so for Chloe the real squeeze is larger. Range +24% to +38% on other lending limits and price indices.
The Budget figure is the Treasury’s average for households with a similar income and make-up, not this person’s exact gain.
Richard, 58
Higher income · owns his home outright · runs two businesses
Better off than 30 years ago
−15%
change in what everything except the home takes from his pay, against 30 years ago
Richard bought the average home for £53,415 30 years ago, with a 10% deposit. The mortgage is paid off, and the same home is now worth about £267,281. With no rent or mortgage, the bills, food and goods of that life take less of his pay than they did. Energy and Council Tax are the exceptions.
Measure 30 years ago Now Price of the average home £53,415 £267,281 Rent or mortgage, a month £319 £0 Everything else, pence in each £1 (same modelled comparison) 63p 54p Budget 2026 · How does it help me?
The Treasury estimates the 10% with the highest incomes lose about £105 a year on average (2027-28), counting tax, benefits and public services.
- Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR): A tax rise for him if he sells a business: from April 2027 the lower tax rate on selling a business covers only the first £500,000 of gains in his lifetime.
- Support for Energy Bills: No VAT on electricity from October 2026 to July 2027.
- Cash ISAs: He can keep putting £20,000 a year into a cash ISA.
What this leaves out
The everything-else figure is for a median earner's basket. A higher earner spends more, but the direction is the same: without housing costs, most of the basket rose more slowly than pay. The gain in the home's value is wealth, not spending money.
The Budget figure is the Treasury’s average for households with a similar income and make-up, not this person’s exact gain.
Seven households: what is left after the bills and debts?
Seven fictional households in England, 2026/27. Pay, tax, National Insurance, benefits and student loans follow the official rules; rents, bills and other debts are stated assumptions. Amounts are a month, rounded to the pound. They are examples, not a sample: different sizes and incomes mean the money left is not the same standard of living.
Four situations
Saving to buy
Amir & Sana
29 & 27 · two earners · renting before buying
£1,534
left a month after housing, bills and debts
See Amir & Sana’s month →
Paying a mortgage
Marcus & Helen
38 & 36 · children aged 8 & 12 · homeowners
£770
left a month after housing, bills and debts
See Marcus & Helen’s month →
Owning outright
Paul & Stacey
69 & 67 · retired · own their home outright
£1,267
left a month after housing, bills and debts
See Paul & Stacey’s month →
Three more households
Social renting with two children
Dan & Tracey
38 & 36 · children aged 8 & 12 · social rent
£1,548
left a month after housing, bills and debts
See Dan & Tracey’s month →
A pensioner renting alone
Zoe
75 · lives alone · social renter · no savings
£476
left a month after housing, bills and debts
See Zoe’s month →
A young family who have just bought
Olivia & Ben
22 & 23 · one baby · first-time homeowners
£1,092
left a month after housing, bills and debts
See Olivia & Ben’s month →
The pictures are illustrations of fictional people.
All seven side by side
| Household | Coming in | Housing | Other bills | Debts | Left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AlexRenting on one wage | £2,127 | £1,406 | £760 | £75 | −£113 |
| Amir & SanaSaving to buy | £4,312 | £1,406 | £1,325 | £47 | £1,534 |
| Marcus & HelenPaying a mortgage | £4,223 | £1,223 | £2,000 | £230 | £770 |
| Paul & StaceyOwning outright | £2,692 | £0 | £1,425 | £0 | £1,267 |
| Dan & TraceySocial renting with two children | £4,223 | £600 | £1,850 | £225 | £1,548 |
| ZoeA pensioner renting alone | £1,031 | £0 | £555 | £0 | £476 |
| Olivia & BenA young family who have just bought | £3,579 | £866 | £1,460 | £160 | £1,092 |
Same pay, same children: owning against renting
Marcus & Helen and Dan & Tracey earn the same, have children the same ages and the same everyday bills. The differences are a mortgage against a social rent, the owners’ repairs reserve and different car finance and other debts.
| A month | Marcus & Helen | Dan & Tracey |
|---|---|---|
| Money coming in | £4,223 | £4,223 |
| Rent or mortgage | £1,223 | £600 |
| Other bills and reserves | £2,000 | £1,850 |
| Debt repayments | £230 | £225 |
| Left each month | £770 | £1,548 |
The owners have £778 less a month. Part of their mortgage payment repays the loan, so they are building up a home they own; the renters are not. Two examples cannot show that owners or renters in general are better or worse off.
Which one is closest to you?
I rent and I am not saving for a home
32% → 50%
of take-home pay goes on rent
Rent is 4.3 times what it was 30 years ago. Take-home pay is 2.8 times what it was. On the English Housing Survey rent figure the share today is about 40%.
What this leaves out
Private rent, UK mean from the ONS index against a 1996 survey figure. Different measures.
I rent and I am saving to buy
+28%
more of take-home pay than the same life 30 years ago
The deposit takes 13.6 years to save, not 2.3. The whole route to owning takes about 49 years, not 27.
What this leaves out
Range +24% to +38% on other borrowing limits and price indices. One earner, no help from family.
I live at home while I save
+10%
more than the same life 30 years ago
Living at home with a small rent takes much of the sting out of the wait. The deposit and the mortgage are just as large.
What this leaves out
The rent paid at home is a placeholder: 20% of the market rent. 28.7% of 20 to 34 year olds lived with parents in 2025.
I am buying now
33% → 31%
of take-home pay goes on the monthly mortgage payment
The monthly payment is not the problem: mortgage rates are lower than in 1996. The deposit is. It is 16.5 times the 1996 deposit.
What this leaves out
Payment on a loan of 4.5 times pay over 35 years, against a 25-year loan after tax relief in 1996.
I own my home outright
−15%
for everything except the home
Without rent or a mortgage, the rest of the shopping basket of 30 years ago takes less of take-home pay than it did. Energy and Council Tax are the exceptions.
What this leaves out
A model result for one earner. A figure for all households, including owners, has not yet been published with its workings.
How each number is worked out
| Reader | What is counted | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Renting, not saving | Private rent, a month, against take-home pay a month. Three rent measures: £1,345, £1,315, £1,083. | 32% then; 40% to 50% now |
| Renting and saving | Rent while saving, the deposit and every mortgage payment, plus the rest of the shopping basket of 30 years ago, priced today. | +28% (range +24% to +38%) |
| Living at home | The same, with rent while saving at 20% of the market rent. The 20% is a placeholder. | +10%; a rough mix of renters and people at home +23% |
| Buying now | The first-year mortgage payment then, after tax relief; a 4.5 times pay loan over 35 years today. | 33% then; 31% now; deposit 16.5 times larger |
| Owning outright | Everything in the basket of 30 years ago except the home: bills, food, goods, motoring and the rest. | −15% |
Rent and the home are one route in the model, so a renter saving and a renter not saving share the rent figure. The mix of renters and people at home uses 28.7% of 20 to 34 year olds living with parents in 2025 (ONS). The 1996 share of about 20% is second-hand and has not been checked at source.
Who the headline example leaves out
The headline follows one earner who rents, saves and buys. Families, two-earner couples, pensioners and social renters are in the households above. Still missing: people helped by family with a deposit, people who bought between about 2010 and now (their mortgage depends on when they bought), single parents, and Scotland, which has its own income tax rates.
The wider picture
The pinch is larger at lower incomes. In April 2024 to March 2025, households in the lowest-income fifthWho is in this group? spent 40.9% of their recorded spending on food, housing (excluding mortgage payments and Council Tax) and energy. For all households it was 28.4% (April 2024 to March 2025, UK, survey-reported spending). See where household money goes and what debt repayments leave to live on.
Sources and methods (5)
- ONS, Mortgage statistics, UK: 2025 (released 18 Sep 2026) — First-time buyers' loan-to-income and loan-to-value.
- English Housing Survey 2024-25, chapter 2 (released 4 Dec 2025) — Private rent in England.
- ONS, Price Index of Private Rents (released 16 Sep 2026) — Private rent, 2025.
- ONS, Family Spending in the UK, April 2024 to March 2025 (released 11 Jun 2026) — Spending lines for phones, TV, broadband and repairs.
- UK House Price Index, December 2025 summary (released 2026) — Average home price, 1996 and 2025.
Method notes
- Every number here comes from the same model as the main page. Nothing is added for a reader that the model cannot calculate.
- Readers and households are examples built from official figures, not real people or a count of how many people are in each group.
- Households: CASE_RULES (England, 2026/27 tax, National Insurance, benefit and student loan rules); other amounts are stated assumptions. Each household has its own page with every line, the exact workings and the Budget 2026 measures that touch it. The Treasury's average Budget gain for similar households is shown beside it, never added to it.