St Albans ‘more affordable than Salford’ says new rental index

St Albans is a more affordable rental location than either Leeds or Salford, surprising new research has revealed.

According to the latest rental affordability index compiled by Open Property Group, renting in this part of Herts typically requires 33 per cent of the average salary, compared to 35 per cent in the two northern cities.

Naturally, renting in St Albans is more expensive - £1,320 per month on average, against a typical salary of £47,507 - compared to £802/£27,712 in Leeds and £751/£25,649 in Salford.

This puts all three places over the 30 per cent threshold recommended by experts to ensure an adequate standard of living – a target reached by just 16 UK cities in the study.

Open Property Group used average income and rental price data to crown Durham the most affordable UK city to rent in, with just 21 per cent of the average monthly salary going towards accommodation.

All of the 10 most affordable locations are up north, while Oxford topped the most expensive list (66 per cent of monthly income spent on rent), with Manchester the first non-southern location, in eighth place (39 per cent).

Openpropertygroup.com managing director Jason Harris-Cohen said: “The north continues to dominate the most affordable cities except for Manchester.

“Despite the sales market being challenging, the rental market has remained buoyant and reduced availability is keeping rental prices strong.”