Renting in England
The average private rent in Liverpool is £913 a month (Office for National Statistics, August 2026), +5.6% on a year earlier, and £546 less than the England average of £1,459. Below: rents by bedrooms, what you need to earn and have saved to move in, and the local rules worth knowing before you sign.
England · Figures for August 2026, published 16 September 2026
Monthly averages for private rented homes across Liverpool, against England as a whole.
| Home | Liverpool | England |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £686 | £1,195 |
| 2 bedrooms | £837 | £1,335 |
| 3 bedrooms | £963 | £1,489 |
| 4 or more bedrooms | £1,293 | £2,161 |
| Home | Liverpool | England |
|---|---|---|
| Flat or maisonette | £786 | £1,444 |
| Terraced house | £917 | £1,435 |
| Semi-detached house | £1,008 | £1,449 |
| Detached house | £1,225 | £1,640 |
These averages include tenants who moved in years ago, whose rent hasn’t kept up with the market, so a home advertised in Liverpool today will usually ask more. To judge a rent you’ve been quoted, compare it with similar homes advertised near the address. How to check a rent or look up the average rent for a Liverpool postcode.
The areas renters most often look in, who they suit, and how far they are from the centre.
L1, L2, L3 · Suits young professionals
Flats in converted warehouses, new apartment blocks and the creative businesses of the Baltic Triangle, close to work and the station. Some build-to-rent flats include bills or a gym in the rent and some don’t, so compare like with like.
Liverpool Central station: 0.3 km from Liverpool Lime Street
L1, L8 · Suits students and young professionals
Georgian terraces divided into flats, between the two cathedrals and close to the universities. Old buildings, so the energy rating is worth checking.
L7, L15 · Suits students
Rows of terraced houses let as shared student homes along Smithdown Road and around Wavertree, with frequent buses to the universities. Busy and sociable in term time.
Wavertree Technology Park station: 3.7 km from Liverpool Lime Street
L17 · Suits young professionals and families
Large Victorian houses divided into flats, Sefton Park on the doorstep, and the bars and restaurants of Lark Lane. Trains along the riverside line into the centre.
Aigburth station: 5.8 km from Liverpool Lime Street
L18, L25 · Suits families
Quieter, greener suburbs in the south of the city, with larger houses and well-regarded schools. Among the pricier parts of Liverpool to rent in.
Mossley Hill station: 5.2 km from Liverpool Lime Street
L4, L6, L7 · Suits renters looking for lower rents close to the centre
Terraced streets north and east of the centre, with some of the city’s lower rents. The selective licensing scheme covers most of Liverpool’s rented homes, including these areas, so check whether the landlord has a licence.
L22, L23 · Suits families and commuters · In Sefton
Seaside suburbs north of the city, with the beach and the Iron Men of Another Place, and Merseyrail trains into town. It is in Sefton, not Liverpool, so the council tax, licensing and average rents are Sefton’s: see the table of councils above.
Waterloo (Merseyside) station: 8.2 km from Liverpool Lime Street
If you can live a little further out, the average rent changes quickly across a council boundary.
| Council | Average rent | Against Liverpool | In a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | £913 | — | |
| Sefton | £938 | £25 more | |
| Wirral | £859 | £54 less | |
| Knowsley | £858 | £55 less | |
| St. Helens | £807 | £106 less | |
| Halton | £749 | £164 less |
Merseyrail trains run under the city centre and out along the coast and into the suburbs, from stations including Liverpool Central, Moorfields and Lime Street, and across the river to the Wirral. Buses cover the rest, with frequent routes along Smithdown Road and the main roads south. The centre is compact enough that many people walk to work.
Within 5 km of Liverpool Lime Street in the city centre, in a straight line, there are 19 other railway stations.
At Liverpool’s average rents. Most letting agents look for a yearly income before tax of about 30 times the monthly rent. Upfront, the law caps the holding deposit at a week’s rent and the tenancy deposit at five weeks’ rent; most landlords also ask for the first month in advance.
| Home | Average rent | Income agents look for | Most deposit allowed | First month and deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £686 | £20,580 a year | £791 | £1,477 |
| 2 bedrooms | £837 | £25,110 a year | £965 | £1,802 |
| 3 bedrooms | £963 | £28,890 a year | £1,111 | £2,074 |
| 4 or more bedrooms | £1,293 | £38,790 a year | £1,491 | £2,784 |
Anything else, such as fees for viewings, referencing or admin, is banned. Work out the limits for your own rent or see how much rent you can afford. On Universal Credit or Housing Benefit? Find the Local Housing Allowance rate for a Liverpool postcode, which caps the help you can get with the rent.
Shared houses around Smithdown Road and Wavertree for the next academic year are advertised from the autumn term. There is no need to rush: plenty are still available after Christmas. Since 1 May 2026, new tenancies in England have no fixed term, so check how and when your group can give notice before you sign.
Good flats in the city centre and the south of the city often go within days. Have your ID for the right-to-rent check, proof of income and a reference ready before you view. Landlords can no longer invite or accept offers above the advertised rent, and a holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent.
On top of the national licence for larger shared homes, Liverpool City Council requires landlords to license some other rented homes. If a home should be licensed and isn’t, the tenant can claim back up to two years’ rent through a rent repayment order, for an offence from 1 May 2026.
Liverpool selective licensing 2022
Selective licensing: homes let to one household · In force until 31 March 2027
Covers sixteen wards as they were drawn before 2023, covering about 80% of the city’s rented homes.
Whether a home needs a licence depends on its exact address. Check a Liverpool postcode or read Liverpool City Council’s licensing pages. Checked 12 October 2026.
England’s new database of private landlords is opening region by region. Liverpool is in the North West, where landlords can register from 15 May 2027 and must have registered by 14 August 2027, under the draft rollout. The North West dates.
Found a place? The free check covers its energy rating, flood risk, crime nearby and past sales, in about a minute. Add the rent to see the most you can be asked for upfront.
£913 a month across all private rented homes in Liverpool, according to the Office for National Statistics for August 2026. A one-bedroom home averages £686. That average includes tenants who moved in years ago, so homes advertised today usually ask more.
Most letting agents want a yearly income before tax of about 30 times the monthly rent. At Liverpool’s average of £913, that is £27,390 a year between the tenants, or £20,580 for an average one-bedroom home. It is a convention, not a law, so an agent can set its own figure.
No more than five weeks’ rent while the rent is under £50,000 a year, under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. On Liverpool’s average rent that is about £1,053, and a holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent, about £210. The deposit must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days.
The average rent in Liverpool, £913 a month, is £546 less than the England average of £1,459. That makes it the 207th most expensive of 294 councils. The most popular areas cost more than the city-wide figure, so compare a quoted rent with homes advertised nearby.
Mostly along Smithdown Road and in Wavertree, with buses to the universities, and in the Georgian Quarter and city centre close to campus.
Most do. Liverpool’s selective licensing scheme covers sixteen wards holding about 80% of the city’s privately rented homes, until March 2027. Whether a particular home is covered depends on its address, so check the postcode.
The average rent in Liverpool was +5.6% on a year earlier in August 2026, against +4.0% across England. A landlord can raise the rent on a periodic tenancy only once a year, using a section 13 notice.
Possibly. Liverpool City Council runs a selective licensing scheme covering parts of the city. Whether a home is covered depends on its exact address, so check the postcode.
Liverpool is in the North West. Under the draft rollout, landlords there can register from 15 May 2027 and must have registered every home they let by 14 August 2027. The dates are in draft regulations and could change.
Sources: ONS Price Index of Private Rents, August 2026, published 16 September 2026; Tenant Fees Act 2019; Liverpool City Council; NaPTAN, Department for Transport. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.