What rent can you afford on an apprentice salary?

Your salary is not what lands in your account. This works out what does, and what's realistic to spend on rent.

Your numbers

£24,000/yr
£15,000£45,000
£650/mo
£300£1,600
£110/mo
£0 (included)£350
£90/mo
£0 (walk)£300
Take-home pay
£1,733/mo
After income tax and National Insurance.
No student loan deduction — you never took one.
Letting agent ceiling
£800/mo
Most agents want annual income of at least 30× the monthly rent. Above this you will usually be asked for a guarantor or rent upfront.
Left after rent, bills and travel
£883/mo
For food, phone, clothes, going out and saving. Rent is 38% of your take-home.
Comfortably within range

Note: Indicative only. Uses 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance thresholds for England, Wales and Northern Ireland — Scotland has its own bands, so a Scottish salary lands slightly differently. It assumes no pension contribution, which is worth checking: auto-enrolment typically takes another 5% of qualifying earnings and most apprenticeship schemes enrol you by default. It also assumes no student loan, which is normally correct for an apprentice but not if you studied before. Treat the output as a starting point, not a budget.

Renting at 18 — what agents ask for →All starting-out guides