Private sector rent statistics: 2010 - 2020

8. Scotland-level Average Rents

Note for this publication that Scotland figures have been calculated using a weighted stock approach based on separate Scottish Household Survey data on the profile of stock by area and property size over time. This differs to previous publications which have presented unweighted Scotland average figures.

This is to help ensure that the national average figures presented reflect the underlying composition of private rental properites over time, and to minimise any effects of changes to sample numbers achieved for particular property sizes or areas in any given years.

Table 6 and Chart 12 below provide a summary of Scotland level changes to average (mean) rental prices over the years 2010 to 2020.

Percentage Changes:

Notes:
Figures exclude any studio properties, properties with 5 or more bedrooms, or room rents associated with bed and breakfast lodgings.
Figures for rooms in shared properties represent "rent only", i.e. exclude any payments for shared services.
Note that Scotland figures have been calculated using a weighted stock approach.

From Table 6, it can be seen that estimated average (mean) rents at a Scotland level have increased for all property sizes over the period from 2010 to 2020 (cumulative increases over 10 years).

The greatest cumulative increase over the 10 years from 2010 to 2020 has been for 4 bedroom properties (estimated 43.0% increase). Average rents for 1 bedroom shared properties have seen a cumulative estimated increase of 31.0%, whilst average rents for 3 bedroom properties have increased by 25.3%, average rents for 2 bedroom properties have increased by 24.4%, and average rents for 1 bedroom properties have increased by 22.7%.

In the latest year, average rents are estimated to have risen the most for 1 bedroom shared properties (2.5%). Increases for 1, 3 and 4 bedroom properties have been 1.8%, 2.2% and 2.0% respectively, whilst 2 bedroom properties are estimated to have had risen the lowest at 1.1%.

Summary of weighted stock methodology used in this publication:

Stock based weights for rented properties have been derived from Scottish Household Survey data, with the aim that this is to help ensure that the national average figures presented reflect any changes to the underlying composition of private rental properites over time, and to minimise any effects of changes to sample numbers achieved for particular property sizes or areas in any given years.

Weights for stock by Broad Rental Market Area have been built up by using an approximate mapping of local authority areas to Broad Rental Market Areas.

The weights from the survey data have been constructed using 3 year rolling data periods to help with precision of results at Broad Rental Market Area, with each 3 year data period being centred on the rental year to be estimated with a lag applied of 2 years, due to the time delay between 3 year survey results being available and the latest rental year in question.

For example, for the latest rental year 2020, a 3 year data period 2017 to 2019 has been used to construct the stock based weights, which equates to the year 2020 lagged by two years (i.e. to be centred on 2018).

For each property size category, the stock based weights are based on the proportion of private rented households in this category that are located in each of the Broad Rental Market Areas. These weights are then used as part of a weighted average calculation in constructing the Scotland level average rent estimates.

For example for 2 bedroom properties, if the 3 year survey data estimates that 10% of private rented properties of this size are located in a particular Broad Rental Market Area, then this 10% figure is multiplied by the average (mean) rental amount for this area when constructing the overall weighted average calculation.

The same methodology has been applied across all other property size categories, except for 1 bedroom shared properties where the weightings are instead based on the estimated proportions of owner occupier or private rented households in each areas that contain two or more adults who are not related or who are not in a married / civil partnership or a co-habiting partnership. This aim to identify households where there may be an individual room being rented in some form. A combination of owner occupier and private rented households have been used as the basis for these weights given that individual rooms being rented are likely to be mix of lodger type situations where the tenure of the property is owner occupier with an individual room being rented out, along with private rented properties in which rooms may be rented out individually.

See Annex D for a revision note which sets out the impacts of these changes on the Scotland figures that were previously published.