Income from renting out a spare room could theoretically cover the monthly mortgage payment on a typical two-bedroom home in Aberdeen, new analysis suggests.
Research by Trade Door Handles estimates the average two-bed property in the city costs £104,200, requiring a £10,400 deposit based on a 90% mortgage.
Its modelling puts the resulting mortgage payment at £513 a month, compared with an average room rent of £521.
That would mean gross lodger income equivalent to 101.5% of the estimated mortgage payment, although actual mortgage costs will depend on the interest rate, term and individual borrower.
SCOTTISH CITIES LEAD
Dundee ranks second in the research, with an estimated £670 monthly mortgage on a £136,000 two-bedroom property and average room rent of £561.
That would leave the homeowner finding around £109 a month towards the mortgage before other housing costs.
Glasgow takes third place, where the study estimates £692 in monthly room rent against an £847 mortgage payment.
Sunderland and Hull complete the top five, with estimated room rents equivalent to 80.3% and 78.7% of modelled mortgage payments respectively.
Newcastle upon Tyne ranks sixth, followed by Preston, Stirling, Doncaster and Stoke-on-Trent.
TAKING IN A LODGER
The analysis examined more than 50 UK cities, comparing two-bedroom property prices, a 10% deposit, estimated mortgage payments and typical room rents.
It then calculated the proportion of the modelled mortgage payment that could potentially be covered by renting out a spare room.
Under the government’s Rent a Room Scheme, homeowners can receive up to £7,500 a year tax-free from letting furnished accommodation in their main home, subject to the rules of the scheme.
The analysis estimates annual room income of around £6,300 in Aberdeen and £6,700 in Dundee.
A spokesperson for Trade Door Handles says: “Room rents reached a record £769 a month across the UK in the third quarter of 2026, according to recent estimates.
“For anyone thinking about renting out their spare room, now is a good moment to make that step.”
