London rental crisis: £1,000pcm room rents now the norm in growing number of postcodes

The number of London areas where the average price of renting a room has hit £1,000 per month is approaching half as the housing crisis continues to worsen in the capital.

Data from flatshare portal SpareRoom showed that tenants should expect to shell out four-figure sums each month in 43 of 117 postcodes in the capital.

This number, shared exclusively with Homes & Property from information gathered in the third quarter of this year, is up from 33 postcodes six months earlier — and just seven in early 2022.

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.

Neighbouring W8 (Kensington and Holland Park) was just behind on £1,645 per month, after seeing the greatest annual jump of 45 per cent.

Among the postcodes to have joined the £1,000-per-month club since March were NW11 (Golders Green), E8 (Hackney) and SW18 (Wandsworth).

Other new members include SE16 (Bermondsey) and SE17 (Walworth) as well as E2 (Bethnal Green).

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 in the neighbourhood still rose by £97 in the past year to £755.

At the start of this year there were four London postcodes with average rent below £700 but these have all since seen significant hikes. Tenants in E6 (East Ham) could expect to pay £792 per month for a room in the third quarter of this year, up from £697 just nine months earlier.

The rental crisis has been raging for some time in the capital and shows no sign of abating.

Figures from Rightmove this month showed the average asking rent for a home in inner London had reached a new record of £3,124 per month, with advertised prices up almost 12 per cent since last year in central boroughs.

Meanwhile a recent report from Hamptons warned that rents in the capital could rise 25 per cent by 2026, growing twice as fast as house prices.

Liam Miller, spokesperson for the London Renters Union, said: "A single bedroom in a shared house should not cost £1,000 a month.

“Millions of people are trapped in an extortionate and insecure private rental sector that is getting worse by the month. For many people who once dreamed of home ownership, finding a decent place to rent has now become a luxury.

“At the acute end of the sector, evictions and homelessness are on the rise. Mild reforms will not fix our rigged housing system. If the major political parties want to be taken seriously about fixing the housing crisis, we need to see a commitment to cap unaffordable rent increases and invest public money in social housing."