Rental alerts for Colchester

Property to Rent in Colchester

Rent in Colchester before the rush.

1,143 rentals available from £400/mo. We monitor 6 property sites 24/7 and alert you the moment a match appears.

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Market snapshot

Colchester rental market at a glance

1,143

Active rentals in Colchester

£1,100/mo

Median monthly rent

6

Property sites we watch

Rental prices

Rent by bedrooms in Colchester

Median monthly rent, based on 1,143 active listings across 6 property sites.

BedroomsMedian rentAvailable
1 bed£800/mo290
2 bed£1,200/mo383
3 bed£1,500/mo143
4+ bed£1,950/mo188
Room£628/mo116

Updated April 2026. Prices normalised to monthly where weekly was listed.

Rent trend · ONS PIPR

How Colchester rents have moved

Office for National Statistics Price Index of Private Rents — official monthly average rent across all tenures in Colchester. Latest: £1,216/mo (Mar 26, +5.9% YoY).

Latest

£1,216

Mar 26

Annual

+5.9%

vs last year

5-yr ago

£913

Apr 21

Total change

+33%

since 2021

£900£1,075£1,225Apr 21Oct 23Mar 26

Source: Office for National Statistics · Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR). Updated monthly with a ~2-month lag. ONS uses Broad Rental Market Areas in Scotland — figures may aggregate beyond the city itself.

Affordability · ONS ASHE

What share of Colchester pay goes on rent?

Renters in Colchester spend an estimated 46% of the local median gross salary on rent — based on the ONS Price Index of Private Rents and ASHE Table 8 (2025).

Median rent

£1,216/mo

£14,592/yr

Median pay

£31,589/yr

gross, ASHE 2025

Rent burden

46%

Stretched — above the 30% rent-burden threshold.

0%30% threshold80%

Sources: Office for National Statistics — Price Index of Private Rents (latest month) and Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Table 8.7a (median annual gross pay, place of residence). The 30% line is the conventional rent-burden threshold above which housing costs are considered to crowd out other essentials.

Council tax · VOA 2024

Council tax bands across Colchester

Most Colchester homes sit in Band B. The weighted average works out close to Band C–D across 85,980 properties on the council-tax list.

Modal band

B

most common band

Mean band

3.19

≈ Band C–D

Stock

86k

85,980 properties

  • A
    11%9,570
  • B
    27%22,990
  • C
    25%21,110
  • D
    19%16,080
  • E
    11%9,240
  • F
    5%4,240
  • G
    3%2,580
  • H
    0%160

Source: HM Valuation Office Agency — Council Tax Stock of Properties (CTSOP1.0), extract dated 31 March 2024. Covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland use separate band schemes and aren't included.

Broadband · Ofcom Connected Nations

Broadband coverage across Colchester

63% of Colchester premises can already get full-fibre and 83% can get gigabit speeds — Ofcom Connected Nations residential coverage, July 2025.

Full fibre

63%

FTTP-ready premises

Gigabit

83%

≥1Gbit/s available

Superfast

98%

≥30Mbit/s available

Mean speed

440 Mbit/s

bucket-weighted estimate

  • Full fibre (FTTP)
    63%
  • Gigabit-capable
    83%
  • Superfast (≥30 Mbit/s)
    98%

Source: Ofcom Connected Nations residential coverage by Local Authority (Colchester), July 2025, covering 85,948 premises. Mean download speed is estimated from Ofcom speed-bucket midpoints.

Energy efficiency · DESNZ EPC

EPC ratings for Colchester homes

55% of Colchester homes hold a current EPC in bands A–C — the bands that meet the proposed 2030 minimum energy-efficiency standard for rented stock.

Bands A–C

55%

good energy-efficiency stock

Bands D–G

45%

below the proposed 2030 floor

Certificates

73k

72,983 EPCs

  • A
    1%546
  • B
    17%12,233
  • C
    37%27,069
  • D
    32%23,529
  • E
    10%7,506
  • F
    2%1,704
  • G
    1%396

Source: DESNZ Energy Performance of Buildings register (replacement for opendatacommunities.org), domestic certificates filed under Colchester. Covers England and Wales — Scottish EPCs are held in a separate Scottish register and aren't included.

Schools · GIAS · DfE

State-funded schools near Colchester

10 open state-funded schools sit within one mile of the Colchester centroid. The five closest:

  1. 1

    The Sixth Form College Colchester

    16 plus · Academy 16-19 converter · CO1 1SN

    0.21 mi
  2. 2

    St John's Green Primary School

    Primary · Community school · CO2 7HE

    0.26 mi
  3. 3

    St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester

    Primary · Academy converter · CO1 2QB

    0.38 mi
  4. 4

    North Primary School and Nursery

    Primary · Community school · CO1 1RP

    0.47 mi
  5. 5

    St Helena School

    Secondary · Academy converter · CO3 3LE

    0.49 mi

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools (state-funded extract). Distances are straight-line from each school's postcode to the Colchester centroid. Ofsted ratings were removed from GIAS in January 2025 and aren't available here.

Property types

What’s on offer in Colchester

Flats & apartments

428

50% of listings

Houses

303

35% of listings

Rooms

116

14% of listings

Bungalows

8

1% of listings

Property mix · houses

Houses to rent in Colchester — what's on the market

Terraced houses make up 46% of the 312 houses currently advertised in Colchester.

  • Terraced
    46%144
  • Other house
    22%70
  • Semi-detached
    19%58
  • Detached
    10%32
  • Bungalow
    3%8

Rent by postcode

Where Colchester rent is highest and lowest

Median monthly rent grouped by outcode across 926 live listings in 11 outcodes. Outcodes with fewer than 3 listings are skipped to avoid skew from a single luxury rental.

Most expensive in Colchester

  1. 1CM7£1,300/mo3 rentals
  2. 2CO2£1,225/mo275 rentals
  3. 3CM2£1,225/mo4 rentals

Cheapest in Colchester

  1. 1CO15£495/mo8 rentals
  2. 2CO10£625/mo4 rentals
  3. 3CO7£650/mo9 rentals

Area safety

Safety in Colchester

Lower Crime Area

Based on the latest police data (April 2026), Colchester has a lower crime rate compared to other UK cities. Across 23 of 23 postcode districts analysed, the median was 35 reported crimes per area. The most common category in Colchester is Anti-social behaviour, accounting for 0% of all incidents.

Crime overview

  • 35 crimes per area (median)
  • 23 of 23 postcode districts covered
  • Data: April 2026

Most reported

  • Anti-social behaviour
  • 0% of incidents

Colchester ranks well for renters concerned about neighbourhood safety. Every Dwellio alert includes the area’s crime data so you can compare at a glance.

Data from data.police.uk, updated monthly. Contains public-sector information licensed under OGL v3.0.

Area breakdown

Safety by suburb in Colchester

Street-level crime counts from data.police.uk for February 2026, covering a ~1 mile radius around each suburb centre. Figures are normalised per 1,000 residents so you can compare neighbourhoods fairly.

Stanway has the lowest crime count of the top 5 suburbs in Colchester.
  • Stanway

    Safer area

    Most common: Violent crime (43) · pop. ~11,000

    10
    per 1k
  • Mile End

    Typical for city

    Most common: Violent crime (53) · pop. ~9,000

    13
    per 1k
  • Highwoods

    Typical for city

    Most common: Violent crime (62) · pop. ~10,000

    13
    per 1k
  • Shrub End

    Higher crime

    Most common: Violent crime (126) · pop. ~9,000

    30
    per 1k
  • Lexden

    Typical for city

    Most common: Violent crime (49) · pop. ~6,000

    15
    per 1k

Suburbs shown are representative populated areas; figures reflect street-level incidents within ~1 mile of each centre. Data from data.police.uk. Contains public-sector information licensed under OGL v3.0.

Where we search

Colchester listings by portal

We watch 6 property sites for rentals in Colchester.

Rightmove
590
OpenRent
242
SpareRoom
116
OnTheMarket
85
PrimeLocation
77
Leaders
33

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Frequently asked

Renting in Colchester — your questions answered

What is the average rent in Colchester?

The median rent in Colchester is £1100/month based on 1143 active listings across 6 property portals (2026-04).

How many rental properties are available in Colchester?

There are currently 1143 rental properties available in Colchester, with 53 new listings added in the last 7 days.

Is Colchester safe for renters?

Colchester has a lower crime rate compared to other UK cities, with a median of 35 reported crimes per postcode area (April 2026). The most common category is Anti-social behaviour. Data from data.police.uk.

What is the most common crime in Colchester?

The most commonly reported crime category in Colchester is Anti-social behaviour, based on data.police.uk records for April 2026.

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