People are returning to the City and looking for places to rent
(Picture: Daniel Lynch)The average monthly rent of a flat in London’s most expensive area has reached nearly £4,000, as housing costs continue to soar in the capital.
In the central borough of Westminster, the average flat rental has leapt to £3,971 per month, an increase of nearly a third since 2021, according to research by Hamptons.
The agent’s figures also show that London rents for flats and houses have risen overall by 12.4 per cent on last year, a hike caused by a slump in the number of available properties combined with increased demand, as tenants flocked back to London after the pandemic.
Twelve of London’s 33 boroughs now have average rents above the £2,000 per month mark, and none have average rents below £1,000 per month.
In the second-priciest borough, Kensington and Chelsea, the average rental now costs £3,863 per month, up from £2,872 last year.
Other rental hotspots include the City of London (£2,931 per month), Camden (£2,694), and Hammersmith and Fulham (£2,583).
At the other end of the scale, the cheapest borough to rent is the outer London borough of Havering, where the average monthly rent is £1,197. The next cheapest deals can also be found in Bexley (£1,200), Hillingdon (£1,250), and Barking and Dagenham (£1254).
Hamptons’s senior analyst David Fell said rents have risen fastest in central London zones one and two, as they recovered lost ground from Covid-induced migration out of the city.
However, despite recent rapid growth, Fell added that prime rents still remain around five per cent below their 2017 peak.
Fell added: “Rental growth in the capital is being driven by both a return to London, coupled with large falls in the numbers of homes to rent. There are around half as many homes on the rental market in London than there were at the same time in 2019.
“And it’s hard to see much relief for tenants, as rising mortgage rates push up costs for landlords that have already seen their returns eroded by the rising cost of tradesmen and building materials.”
Cost of renting in every London borough
Borough |
Average monthly rent |
Annual change % |
Westminster |
£3,971 |
29.7 |
Kensington & Chelsea |
£3,863 |
34.5 |
City of London |
£2,931 |
32.7 |
Camden |
£2,694 |
23.2 |
Hammersmith and Fulham |
£2,583 |
15.6 |
Wandsworth |
£2,414 |
24.2 |
Tower Hamlets |
£2,348 |
25.8 |
Islington |
£2,240 |
22.3 |
Hackney |
£2,230 |
21.9 |
Southwark |
£2,200 |
19.8 |
Lambeth |
£2, 159 |
19.6 |
Richmond |
£1,910 |
12.7 |
Newham |
£1,801 |
17.1 |
Hounslow |
£1,793 |
27.3 |
Greenwich |
£1,711 |
15.5 |
Brent |
£1,684 |
12.8 |
Merton |
£1,658 |
13.5 |
Ealing |
£1,645 |
14.1 |
Barnet |
£1,603 |
10.2 |
Haringey |
£1,596 |
11.8 |
Kingston |
£1,555 |
14.1 |
Lewisham |
£1,503 |
12.1 |
Waltham Forest |
£1,427 |
10.4 |
Enfield |
£1,414 |
11.5 |
Sutton |
£1,408 |
21.8 |
Harrow |
£1,356 |
8.5 |
Redbridge |
£1,356 |
12.6 |
Bromley |
£1,341 |
7.7 |
Croydon |
£1,315 |
12.4 |
Barking and Dagenham |
£1,254 |
3.1 |
Hillingdon |
£1,250 |
5.5 |
Bexley |
£1,200 |
11.1 |
Havering |
£1,197 |
4.8 |
