Guidance

Valuation Office Agency Rent Officers: Private Rented Market Statistics

Description and links to ONS statistics production from our data.

From:
Valuation Office Agency
Published
11 October 2023
Last updated
15 May 2024 — See all updates

Letting agents, management companies, private landlords, and the lettings industry voluntarily contribute around half a million private residential rent data to VOA Rent Officers. The primary use is Local Housing Allowance and Universal Credit, and as a basis for their Rent Act 1977 Fair Rent valuations. What is less well known is the important re-use of the data by the Office for National Statistics. Here we set out the ONS publications and official statistics which benefit from this unique collaborative relationship between the Private Rented Sector and government.

Official rental price statistics

Housing prices in your area

Inflation measures

  • UK inflation indices are released around the middle of each month. They include VOA rental data in the basket of goods.
  • Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH), the most comprehensive & ONS lead measure of inflation. It was introduced in March 2013.
  • Consumer Prices index (CPI) - covers a number of items excluded from the RPI. In the last 15 to 20 years there has been a shift towards using the CPI in preference to using the RPI for a number of uses, including; uprating of government pensions and some benefits which changed in 2011.
  • Retail Prices Index (RPI) - as a legacy measure to meet existing user needs. The RPI is the longest-standing measure of inflation in the UK. It is no longer a National Statistic due to its methodology not meeting international standards. The RPI is still used in some index-linked gilts.

Historical PRMS prior to 2019

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Published 11 October 2023
Last updated 15 May 2024 + show all updates

  1. The content has been updated.

  2. First published.

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