It’s not a shocking statement to say that rents have become increasingly unaffordable. More than a third of roommates have borrowed money from friends or family in order to pay their rent, and many have taken on extra work in addition to their main sources of income*.

While sadly there’s no imminent solution for lowering rents, we’ve done the math and put together some options which could help to make your rent cheaper - keep reading to see how!

1. Living with roommates vs living alone

Living with roommates is nearly always cheaper than living alone. For example, renting in a shared property in New York could be, on average, $1,974 cheaper per month than renting alone** – a saving of over $23,000 a year!

Not only do you save money on rent by living with roommates, but utilities will probably cost less too, as they’ll be divided between more people. You can also often afford to live in a better neighborhood than you could if you lived alone - potentially meaning amenities like transport links and grocery stores will be closer, helping to cut back on other expenses.

2. Live with a homeowner

Living with a homeowner versus renting from an agent or landlord who doesn't live in the property could cut monthly outgoings by 10% on average, and even more in some metro areas***.

There are, of course, a few things you’ll need to think about before living with a homeowner, as you won’t necessarily have the same rights as you do for a typical rental lease. But, there are many added perks of living with a resident landlord. For one, it’s already their home, so it might have more of a welcoming feel than a rental. Also, if anything breaks, it’s likely you’ll get it fixed more quickly as the landlord is also affected. Finally, expanding your search on SpareRoom to include rooms from resident landlords will also massively increase your choice of ads.

3. Living further out

Now that remote working has become more common, living further out may be a viable option for those willing to relocate - or those looking to break away from the pace of inner city life!

Places outside of major cities but within commuting distance often have cheaper rent. In New York, for example, room rents in Manhattan’s East Village currently average at $2,089 per month. In Jersey City - just a short drive across the river - rents average $1,278 per month. Over the course of a year, it could save you over $9k on rent!

Final thoughts

The rental market, as a whole, is still seeing rents trend upwards. However, year-on-year rents in some metros are falling or only seeing marginal increases, which sparks some hope that affordability will ease. In the meantime, for those looking for cheaper rent, these are just a few suggestions of alternative arrangements.

References
*SpareRoom renter survey, August 2025
**Calculated using SpareRoom Q3 2025 average rent and Zillow average rents for 1 bedroom ($3,450, accurate as of Nov 5th 2025)
***Data based on March 2025 room rental data