Mexico City Rent Averages 17,267 Pesos, Above Household Income

The average monthly rent in Mexico City is 17,267 pesos, more than the estimated average monthly income of a Mexico City household, which is 16,988 pesos. Both figures come from a diagnosis by the city’s Housing Secretariat (Secretaría de Vivienda), as reported by the outlet Regeneración.

City Head of Government Clara Brugada has sent the city Congress a bill meant to rein in rent increases and strengthen tenants’ position. The Supreme Court (SCJN) has already approved one of its central ideas.

Rents differ sharply by borough

The Housing Secretariat’s diagnosis puts Miguel Hidalgo at the top, with an average of 44,609 pesos a month for an apartment. Next come Cuajimalpa at 33,561 pesos, Cuauhtémoc at 26,511, Álvaro Obregón at 24,552 and Benito Juárez at 23,502.

The lowest averages are in Milpa Alta (6,032 pesos), Tláhuac (6,899), Iztapalapa (8,369) and Xochimilco (10,275). A tenant in Miguel Hidalgo therefore pays several times what a tenant in Milpa Alta pays.

Sale prices follow the same pattern. According to the report, apartments in Miguel Hidalgo can cost as much as 10,390 thousand pesos, well above the citywide average.

Rents rose faster than inflation

Between July 2025 and July 2026, rents in the city rose 9.6%, based on estimates from the real estate portal Inmuebles 24. That pace was above the inflation rate for the same period.

Inti Muñoz, the city’s housing secretary, said about two million people in the capital live in rented homes. In some areas, he said, rents have gone up between 100 and 200%.

What the rent bill proposes

Brugada presented the initiative on Oct. 14. Its title refers to tenant relations and rents that are fair, reasonable and affordable. According to the report, it would:

• keep annual rent increases within the rate of inflation;
• bar landlords from demanding more than one guarantee;
• require written contracts lasting at least one year;
• create a mandatory digital registry of rental agreements.

The bill also provides for a Tenant Relations Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría de las Relaciones Inquilinarias), attached to the Social Procurator’s Office (Procuraduría Social). It would give free advice, mediation and legal support, and the bill adds an institutional mechanism for dealing with evictions.

The Supreme Court has already upheld a cap on annual rent increases above inflation, Regeneración reported. It also set criteria so that a contract registry respects the privacy of both landlords and tenants.

What this means for renters

For the roughly two million people who rent, the bill would change how much a landlord can raise the rent each year, how many guarantees can be demanded and whether a lease must be in writing. The rules would reach tenants in every borough, from Milpa Alta to Miguel Hidalgo, though rent levels are very far apart. The bill is still before the city Congress, and the report does not say when it will be voted on.

The city government itself acknowledges that expanding the supply of housing remains one of its main pending tasks in making decent housing accessible. The rent bill addresses what landlords can charge and require, and it does not add homes.

Source: Regeneración