The cheapest and most expensive province to rent in South Africa

Rental prices in South Africa vary greatly from province to province, with a new report showing that the average rental price between the country’s cheapest and most expensive provinces is over R4,000.

This was revealed in PayProp’s Q2 Rental Index, which outlines trends in the South African residential rental market and is compiled from PayProp’s transactional data.

According to the index, South African residential rental growth slowed to 5.0% year on year in the second quarter of 2025 after a strong start to the year.

Average rent increased to R9,218, up R433 from the same quarter last year, and crucially, growth remained well above inflation, keeping landlords in positive territory in real terms.

At the same time, the share of tenants in arrears fell to 16.9% nationally, the lowest level ever recorded in the Index, underscoring the overall resilience of tenant finances in managed rentals.

“Rental growth above inflation and arrears at record lows are strong signals that the market remains healthy,” said Payprop head of sales André van Rooyen.

“Even with signs of cooling, landlords and agents can be confident that tenants are still able to meet their commitments.”

Average year-on-year rental growth slowed from 5.2% in April to 4.5% in June, the lowest monthly figure recorded since May 2024.

“One of the key drivers of the strong growth we’ve seen over the past year was landlords and agents making up for low or negative growth during the pandemic,” Van Rooyen said.

“Now, after four consecutive quarters of real-terms growth, many may feel less urgency to push rents higher.”

The dip in national rental growth in the second quarter was largely driven by slower performance in South Africa’s three largest rental markets.

Gauteng recorded sluggish year-on-year growth of just 2.4%, while KwaZulu-Natal grew at 3.6%. Growth in the Western Cape was still well above average at 7.3%, but even so, this was down from 9.6% in the first quarter.

Together, these provinces’ slowing growth weighed down the national average despite continued strength elsewhere.

Small markets shine

Positively, smaller markets continued to post robust growth. Limpopo led the country for the third consecutive quarter with an extraordinary 12.5% year-on-year increase.

This pushed average rents in the province to R9,145, just R127 behind KwaZulu-Natal. If current trends continue, Limpopo could soon overtake KZN and even Gauteng to rank among the three most expensive provinces for tenants.

Average rents in the Northern Cape also surged past the R10,000 mark for the first time, as the province posted strong 7.3% growth.

Elsewhere, the Eastern Cape extended its recovery with 5.7% growth, while the Free State delivered a healthy 7.7% despite a small quarter-on-quarter dip in rand terms.

Mpumalanga remained the weakest market, with growth almost flat at 0.1% year on year. The province has now experienced rental growth below 1.0% in three of the past four quarters, underscoring ongoing pressure on the local market.

Despite the slowdown, PayProp reported positive news on arrears. The share of tenants in arrears fell to 16.9% in the second quarter, the lowest ever recorded in the PayProp Rental Index.

Tenants in arrears now owe 73.7% of their monthly rent, breaking the previous record low set in Q3 2023.

Tenant finances have remained resilient despite rising fuel and electricity costs earlier in the year, aided by low overall inflation. This, coupled with slower rental escalation, reduces the risk that rent levels will become unsustainable.

However, the average rental applicant now spends more than half of their income (52.1%) on debt repayments, which could affect their financial resilience.

Van Rooyen said that while national growth may ease further in the coming months, record-low arrears point to a rental market on solid ground.

“South Africa’s rental sector is showing resilience, with tenants continuing to meet their obligations even as growth patterns shift. For property professionals, the message is clear: use data to adapt to local conditions,” he said.

“In slower markets, that means digging deeper for opportunities, while in faster-growing provinces, robust tenant vetting will be key to coping with demand and sustaining returns.”

South Africa’s cheapest and most expensive provinces

In the second quarter of 2025, the North West remained the cheapest province in South Africa. However, with an average rent of R7,125, PayProp explained that it is showing strong growth.

Compared to Q2 2024, rent has increased by R763 in the province. In the first quarter of 2025, the North West was even the fastest-growing rental market in the country.

While it was overtaken by Limpopo in Q2 2025, it still grew by an impressive 12% year on year.

After the North West, the Free State had the second lowest rent in the country, at an average price of R7,285 per month. The Eastern Cape had the third lowest rent, at R7,517.

These three provinces were the only ones in South Africa with an average monthly rental price of less than R8,000.

Unsurprisingly, the Western Cape stayed strong as the most expensive province in the country, with an average rental price of R11,454. However, the province’s rental growth fell for the second consecutive quarter, reaching 7.3% year-on-year.

While this is still above the national average of 5%, the drop hasn’t gone unnoticed and, according to PayProp, it has been significant enough to reduce national growth rate figures.

It should be kept in mind, however, that the Western Cape is growing from a much higher base than province’s like the North West and Limpopo – making it much harder to achieve that level of rental growth.

The province’s property market still remains strong, and rental agents, such as Pam Golding, have even reported record sales rates during the quarter, particularly along Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard.

From Q2 2024, when the average rent was R10,673, rent in the province increased by R781. This also means that the difference in average rent between the Western Cape and South Africa’s cheapest province, the North West, is now over R4,000 per month.

Interestingly, the Northern Cape came in behind the Western Cape as the second most expensive province in the country, with an average price of R10,122.

These are now the only two provinces in South Africa where the average rent exceeds R10,000 per month.