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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Comment
Andy Beill

Talking Point: What should be done to fix London’s soaring rent?

Renting has become an extremely competitive market for tenants

(Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Renting in London is now costing an average of £2,257 a month, record-high figures show.

That’s just over double what it costs in the rest of the country as a whole, though Rightmove’s figures show non-London asking prices are rising at a record rate. That is perhaps part-explained by Londoners accepting a change in life at half the price outside the capital. However, it doesn’t appear to be doing much to help the situation of a lack of housing stock and increasing competition for it.

Richard Davies, managing director of Chestertons, said: “Those who secured a property at a discounted rental rate during the pandemic are keen to hold on to this deal as long as possible, particularly in the face of rising living costs.

“This has created an extremely competitive market for tenants where many offer landlords over asking price in order to secure a property.”

This of course comes within the context of the cost of living crisis where wages aren’t going up in line with spending, including likely the biggest outlay of all: rent.

Something clearly needs to be done to stop the lines on each graph continuing along in the same directions. Continuing on just cannot be sustainable for anyone.

What should be done to fix London’s soaring rent? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below for the chance to be featured on the ES website.

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