Cost of living in the capital: Average monthly rents continue to rise in London
In some parts of London, tenants are paying as much as £500 more per month as the cost of living crisis continues.
Rents across London are rising to record highs each month, with the average monthly cost of a room now topping £1,000 per month in 44 out of 117 postcodes.
But, as The Standard reports, in five of the capital’s postcodes these increases have been even more punishing than the rest — with the average monthly cost of renting a room soaring by a third or more in just a year.
The latest data from SpareRoom showed that house sharers in these postcodes are paying hundreds of pounds extra a month than they were the previous year.
The five London neighbourhoods where rent is growing quickest:
| Postcode | Increase in average room rent in the year to Q3 2023 |
|---|---|
| W8 - Kensington | 45% |
| NW7 - Mill Hill | 38% |
| SE28 - Thamesmead | 36% |
| N2 - East Finchley | 36% |
| WC2 - West End | 32% |
Kensington, W8
The biggest increase was in Kensington’s W8 postcode, where monthly costs jumped by an astonishing 45 per cent in the year to Q3 2023 - an additional £509 per month, or £6,108 per year. This puts the new average room rent in the area at £1,645pcm.
Mill Hill, NW7
It is not only at the prime end of the capital’s housing market that rents have soared. NW7 (Mill Hill) saw a 38 per cent hike, according to SpareRoom, taking the postcode from within the 10 cheapest a year ago to outside the 50 cheapest in the most recent table.
The average rent is now £910pcm, a rise of £250pcm.
Thamesmead, SE28
Elsewhere, tenants were typically paying £867pcm for a room in SE28 (Thamesmead), which is 36 per cent more than 12 months earlier.
East Finchley, N2
Renters are also faced with a 36 per cent hike in costs in N2 (East Finchley) with room rents jumping from £727pcm to £986pcm.
Central London, WC2
WC2 postcodes saw a 32 per cent hike in the past year, to £1,591pcm, in no small part down the to the area seeing a spike in students from around the globe studying in the capital.
Twenty-two postcodes saw the price of a typical room rise by at least a fifth in the last year, according to the SpareRoom figures. Just 10 of 117 districts measured saw single-figure percentage growth. None saw costs drop.
South Kensington’s SW7 became the costliest place to rent in the latest period, with a typical price tag of £1,754 per month, up more than a quarter in a year.
Meanwhile the latest data showed no postcodes remained with average room rents below £750. Edmonton’s N18 district came in as the most affordable but the monthly price of a spot in a typical shared house still rose by £97 in the past year to £755.
Gateway Today will keep you posted on this with future updates.