The most and least affordable areas to rent in London
Recent data published by the Office for National Statistics has revealed the areas in London where renting is most and least affordable.
According to the ONS, the average rent paid by a private renter in London is now 41.6% of the city’s median gross income.
This ratio is well above the 30% threshold the ONS uses to determine whether an area is ‘affordable’ for private renters, and the figure continues to increase.
No single area within London falls below the threshold to be deemed ‘affordable’, and the least affordable areas see average rent prices in excess of 70% of the median pre-tax wage in the city.
The data showed that England as a whole has an affordability ratio of 36.4%, but if London is excluded this would fall below the ONS’s affordability threshold, with only the South West also being classed as ‘unaffordable’ with a ratio of 31.4%.
Within London, the least affordable areas to rent include Kensington and Chelsea (74,3%), Westminster (55,8%), Camden (51.7%) and Wandsworth (54,0%).
According to the data, the most affordable areas in London included Havering (30.1%), Croydon (31.3%), Tower Hamlets (32,3%), and Bexley (33.6%).
It is important to note that even the most affordable areas in London featured addorability ratios above 30%, classing them as technically ‘unaffordable’ according to the definition used by the ONS in its study.
The full list of London local authorities and their affordability ratios is below (lower is more affordable):
| London Local Authority | Affordability Ratio |
|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | 37,7% |
| Barnet | 44,2% |
| Bexley | 33,6% |
| Brent | 42,7% |
| Bromley | 34,8% |
| Camden | 51,7% |
| Croydon | 31,3% |
| Ealing | 42,7% |
| Enfield | 38,5% |
| Greenwich | 41,5% |
| Hackney | 44,5% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 51,3% |
| Haringey | 48,3% |
| Harrow | 39,7% |
| Havering | 30,1% |
| Hillingdon | 33,8% |
| Hounslow | 38,6% |
| Islington | 45,5% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 74,3% |
| Kingston upon Thames | 39,3% |
| Lambeth | 47,1% |
| Lewisham | 38,6% |
| Merton | 46,8% |
| Newham | 37,0% |
| Redbridge | 38,7% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 45,3% |
| Southwark | 45,1% |
| Sutton | 33,7% |
| Tower Hamlets | 32,3% |
| Waltham Forest | 39,1% |
| Wandsworth | 54,0% |
| Westminster | 55,8% |
