Northern Ireland rent typically takes up quarter of income, new figures suggest

New figures suggest a typical private renting household in Northern Ireland spent a quarter of their gross income on rent last year

The typical private-renting household spent a quarter of its gross income on rent last year, new figures suggest.

However, among low-income households, rent typically took up more than a third of income.

An area is considered affordable if private rent costs less than 30% of the income of tenants.

The figures, provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), suggest the average monthly income for private renters in Northern Ireland is £2,635.

The average rent, the figures suggest, cost £650.

Underlying data was sourced from the Housing Executive and the official Family Resources Survey.

The ONS said the new figures have some limitations, including not reflecting differences within individual regions.

It suggests that typical private rents in Northern Ireland are slightly less affordable than in poorer regions of Wales and England, such as the north east.

London was by far the least affordable region - with the typical private renting household there spending almost 35% of gross income on rent.

Yorkshire and the Humber, meanwhile, was most affordable, with the typical household spending less than 23% on rent.

Scotland was not covered in the figures.

The ONS also looked at rental affordability among broad income groups across the UK.

In Northern Ireland, the figures suggest that a typical high-income household paying a high rent spent less than 22% of its gross income on rent - but a typical low-income household paying a low rent spent 32% of its gross income.