Average rent in the Free State remains the lowest in South Africa.
Western Cape once again had the lowest share of tenants behind on their rent, while the Free State continued to record the highest proportion of tenants in arrears. Picture: iStock
South Africans’ wallets continue to come under pressure as households grapple with rising living costs, from food and electricity to fuel and residential rent. The latest blow comes from the housing market, where residential rents have climbed in the first quarter of 2026, adding to the financial strain on tenants.
There was, however, a silver lining: the share of tenants in arrears fell by 16.7%, suggesting that despite mounting pressure, more renters are keeping up with their monthly payments.
According to the latest PayProp Rental Index released on 29 July 2026, average rent increased to R9 582, up from R9 462 – with Western Cape, like the previous quarters, being the province with the highest average rent of R12 125 per month.
Average rent increases by R450
According to the report, the increase in average rent was R450.
PayProp conducts the rental index to provide data-driven insights that help landlords, property agents, and investors measure market health, track inflation versus rental yields, and make informed financial decisions.
“There were some early warning signals at the provincial level: This quarter we saw two provinces dip 1% rental growth, while another recorded a double-digit increase for the first time in three years,” reads the index.
The rental index revealed that tenants in arrears declined within the period from 16.9% in the previous quarter.
“Things were less peachy when it came to the average arrears percentage. Tenants in arrears owed on average 74.3% of their rent, up from the record low of 71.3% from the last quarter.
“Despite the rising indebtedness we reported last quarter, it looks as though diligence from rental agents, backed by powerful arrears monitoring and recovery systems, is keeping the rent flowing.”
Average rent per province
According to the report, the provincial rankings remained unchanged from the previous quarter, with one exception. North West moved up from eighth to seventh place, swapping positions with the Eastern Cape, which dropped to eighth.
Here’s the average rent per province, from most expensive to cheapest:
- Western Cape – R12 125
- Northern Cape – R10 821
- Gauteng – R9 600
- KwaZulu-Natal – R9 583
- Limpopo – R9 483
- Mpumalanga – R8 494
- North West – R7 620
- Eastern Cape – R7 586
- Free State – R7 501
Indebtedness falls
The report revealed that tenants’ indebtedness fell in the first quarter of 2026, as average spending on debt dipped slightly to 45.7% of income, compared to 46.1% a year ago.
However, the report noted that much of the fall in debt spending was driven by the interest rate cut in November, which made it cheaper to service debt.
The Free State continued to record the highest proportion of tenants in arrears during the first quarter of 2026, followed by North West and the Northern Cape.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Western Cape once again had the lowest share of tenants behind on their rent, ahead of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
The report noted that provincial rankings were largely unchanged from the previous quarter, with the only movement seeing North West overtake the Eastern Cape to move into seventh place.
