Average Rent, House Prices and Buy-to-Let Yield in Leicester (July 2026)
The average private rent in Leicester is £1,024 a month (ONS, July 2026) and the average house price £228,618 (HM Land Registry, June 2026): a gross yield of 5.4%, ranked 42 of 316 local authorities.
Rent in Leicester
The average private rent across all property types is £1,024 a month (+2.3% on a year earlier). The regional median in the East Midlands is £857.
| Property | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £717 | £8,604 a year |
| 2 bedrooms | £893 | £10,716 a year |
| 3 bedrooms | £1,046 | £12,552 a year |
| 4+ bedrooms | £1,456 | £17,472 a year |
The bedroom ladder in Leicester: one to two bedrooms adds 24.5% to the rent, two to three adds 17.1% and three to four-plus adds 39.2% (England-and-Wales medians 27.3%, 20.9% and 40.9%). The biggest step here is three to four or more bedrooms — the size where an extra room earns most, and the first place to look when comparing a conversion against its cost.
House prices in Leicester
The average price paid is £228,618 (+1.7% on a year earlier).
| Type | Average price |
|---|---|
| Detached | £384,968 |
| Semi-detached | £263,007 |
| Terraced | £206,501 |
| Flat | £141,987 |
Rents and prices moved together in Leicester — +2.3% and +1.7% over the year — so the gross yield on offer is roughly where it was twelve months ago. Leicester ranks 244th of 316 local authorities for rent growth and 205th of 316 for price growth; the England-and-Wales medians are +3.8% and +2.8%.
Gross yield by property type in Leicester
| Type | Rent / month | Average price | Gross yield | E&W median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | £893 | £141,987 | 7.5% | 7.5% |
| Terraced house | £1,046 | £206,501 | 6.1% | 5.7% |
| Semi-detached | £1,046 | £263,007 | 4.8% | 4.6% |
| Detached | £1,456 | £384,968 | 4.5% | 4.1% |
On these pairings the strongest gross yield in Leicester is on flats at 7.5%, against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type; the weakest is detached. Gross figures ignore service charges, which usually make flats the thinnest net yield of the four.
What that means for a landlord
- Gross yield 5.4% (rent × 12 ÷ price) — rank 42 of 316 local authorities; the regional median is 4.2%. Net yield is lower once mortgage interest, insurance, maintenance and voids come off.
- Tenant affordability: referencing at 30× means a household income of about £30,720 a year for the average rent.
- EPC before 2030: 43% of EPCs lodged in Leicester over the last year were below band C — the level a rented home needs by 1 October 2030 — with 39% at D (EPC ratings in Leicester).
- Council tax: Band D in Leicester is £2,529 for 2026/27, and the council charges a 100% second-home premium (council tax in Leicester).
Lender maths on the averages. At a 5.5% stress rate and 145% rent cover — the common buy-to-let convention — the average rent of £1,024 supports a loan of about £154,082, which is 67.4% of the average price. That falls short of 75% loan-to-value, so a buyer of an average home here needs a larger deposit or a stronger rent to pass the stress test. Both numbers are conventions rather than rules — change them in the stress test.
Run the numbers for Leicester
- Yield calculator with £228,618 and £1,024 already filled in
- Mortgage stress test at 75% LTV on the average price
- Rent affordability: the income a tenant needs to reference at £1,024 a month
- Rental income tax on £12,288 a year of rent
Nearest neighbours by yield, in the East Midlands
| Area | Rent | Price | Yield | Rent 12m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nottingham | £1,011 | £192,172 | 6.3% | +2.3% |
| Lincoln | £944 | £183,298 | 6.2% | +5.3% |
| Boston | £803 | £180,778 | 5.3% | +1.1% |
| Derby | £857 | £204,016 | 5% | +2.4% |
| Ashfield | £793 | £190,024 | 5% | +5% |
| Mansfield | £788 | £192,359 | 4.9% | +4% |
All 316 areas ranked · council tax in Leicester · EPC ratings in Leicester.
Rents: ONS, Price Index of Private Rents (average monthly private rent by local authority, July 2026). Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (average price, June 2026). Gross yield = rent × 12 ÷ price, our calculation. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Rankings and medians are ours, across 316 local authorities.
Asked about this area
£1,024 a month across all property types (ONS Price Index of Private Rents, July 2026), up 2.3% on a year earlier.
£228,618 (HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, June 2026).
About 5.4% gross on the averages — £1,024 rent against a £228,618 price — ranking 42 of 316 local authorities. Net yield depends on your mortgage and costs.
Flats on our pairing: 7.5% gross (£893 rent on a £141,987 price), against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type.
Rents +2.3% against prices +1.7% over the year — moving together, so yield is broadly stable.
Referencing at 30 times the monthly rent points to roughly £30,720 a year of household income for the average home; the affordability calculator shows 24× and 36× too.