Rental yields›2026 report
The 2026 UK rental yield report
We ranked all 316 local authorities in England and Wales by gross rental yield, using official Land Registry prices and ONS rents. Here is where buy-to-let still pays in 2026, and where high prices have flattened landlord returns.
Highest yield
6.9%
Newcastle upon Tyne
Lowest yield
2.8%
Derbyshire Dales
National median
4.4%
across 316 areas
Data to
2026
official sources
The highest-yielding place to be a landlord in England and Wales in 2026 is Newcastle upon Tyne, at a 6.9% gross rental yield. The average home there costs £209,071 and rents for £1,204 a month, with rents up 10.3% over the past year.
Manchester (6.6%) and Portsmouth (6.5%) come next. The thread running through the top of the table is affordability: the strongest yields cluster in cheaper Northern and Midlands cities, where a modest purchase price meets solid rent. Blackpool is the cheapest of the top ten, at an average £134,732.
At the other end, expensive areas deliver the weakest returns. Kensington and Chelsea has the highest average price in the country at £1,272,760, yet yields only 3.4%. Derbyshire Dales sits bottom of all 316 areas at 2.8%.
The headline for anyone weighing up a buy-to-let: the priciest areas are usually the worst for income. A landlord in Blackpool earns around 2.0 times the gross yield of one in Kensington and Chelsea, on a home costing roughly 9 times less. Yield is not everything, but it is where the sums start.
A gross yield is not money in your pocket.
Every figure here is gross, before mortgage costs, tax, management and voids. A 6% gross yield is not 6% net. The point of the full ranking is to help you run your own numbers, not chase a headline percentage. Work out a specific deal →
Top 10 highest gross yields
| Area | Gross yield | Avg price | Avg rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 6.9% | £209,071 | £1,204/mo |
| Manchester | 6.6% | £247,344 | £1,352/mo |
| Portsmouth | 6.5% | £250,377 | £1,366/mo |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 6.5% | £139,322 | £754/mo |
| Bristol, City of | 6.4% | £353,662 | £1,883/mo |
| Southampton | 6.4% | £234,150 | £1,250/mo |
| Blackpool | 6.3% | £134,732 | £704/mo |
| Nottingham | 6.3% | £192,543 | £1,006/mo |
| Tower Hamlets | 6.3% | £457,504 | £2,419/mo |
| Lincoln | 6.2% | £185,464 | £951/mo |
10 lowest gross yields
| Area | Gross yield | Avg price | Avg rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derbyshire Dales | 2.8% | £344,689 | £805/mo |
| Elmbridge | 3% | £741,058 | £1,831/mo |
| Waverley | 3.1% | £566,729 | £1,445/mo |
| South Hams | 3.2% | £375,098 | £1,000/mo |
| Powys | 3.3% | £223,319 | £620/mo |
| Malvern Hills | 3.3% | £342,565 | £940/mo |
| Melton | 3.3% | £286,027 | £791/mo |
| West Devon | 3.3% | £307,291 | £839/mo |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 3.4% | £1,272,760 | £3,591/mo |
| Mole Valley | 3.4% | £546,970 | £1,548/mo |
Method and sources
Gross rental yield is annual rent divided by average property price. Prices are from the HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (April 2026). Rents are from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents (May 2026). Figures are local-authority averages across all property types and are indicative only. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Education, not investment advice.
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