- New data from SpareRoom shows London rents have increased by an average of 32% in the past five years*
- The biggest rental increases were seen in SE2, including Greenwich and Abbey Wood, with the latter having been revealed as one of the most in-demand rental locations of late
- The smallest rental increases were seen in W10, covering Queen’s Park and Kensington and Chelsea, followed by SW14 in Richmond
- SW appears the most stable postcode in London, with rents having increased the least compared to N, NW, E/EC, SE and W/WC (see heat map below)
Biggest rental increases by postcode
The biggest rental increases were seen in SE2, covering parts of Greenwich and Abbey Wood, where rent has more than doubled since 2019, rising by a huge 54.7%. Abbey Wood was recently highlighted by SpareRoom as one of London’s most rapidly increasing in demand areas**, likely due to the construction of the Elizabeth line, making this a newfound commuter hotspot and improving accessibility to Central London. The rising demand, in turn, is likely to have led to significant rises in rental prices in the area.
Other postcodes that have seen five-year rent increases well above the capital’s average include EC2 (53.4%), N9 (49.7%) and SE9 (49.6%).
| Top 10 postcodes with the biggest five year rental increases by % | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Postcode | Approximate areas covered | Five year rental increase in % | Five year monthly rental increase in £ |
| 1. SE2 | Parts of Greenwich and Bexley including Abbey Wood | 54.7% | £289 (£531 up to £820) |
| 2. EC2 | Shoreditch and Liverpool Street | 53.4% | £517 (£966 up to £1,483) |
| 3. N9 | Edmonton/Enfield | 49.7% | £284 (£571 up to £855) |
| 4. SE9 | Parts of Greenwich, Bromley, Bexley and Lewisham including Eltham | 49.6% | £279 (£562 up to £841) |
| 5. SE17 | Parts of Southwark, including Elephant & Castle, Kennington | 48.1% | £357(£741 up to £1,098) |
| 6. SE7 | Charlton | 47.7% | £280(£588 up to £868) |
| 7. SE28 | Thamesmead (Greenwich/Bexley) | 46.4% | £263 (£566 up to £829) |
| 8. E2 | Bethnal Green, Haggerston, Hoxton and parts of Shoreditch | 44.6% | £336 (£753 up to £1,089) |
| 9. SE13 | Lewisham | 43.1% | £289 (£671 up to £960) |
| 10. E17 | Walthamstow | 42.9% | £262 (£611 up to £873) |
Smallest rental increases by postcode
Many of the postcodes with the lowest rental increases over the past five years were those that have seen consistently high rental costs, for example W10 - covering parts of Queen’s Park and Ladbroke Grove, where rent has gone from £900 to £1,008 in five years, and SW1 where 2019 rent would already set you back a hefty £1,086 - rising to £1,247 in 2024.
| Top 10 postcodes with the smallest five year rental increases by % | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Postcode | Approximate areas covered | Five year rental increase in % | Five year monthly rental increase in £ |
| 1. W10 | Queen’s Park, Ladbroke Grove and Kensal Town | 11.9% | £108 (£900 up to £1008) |
| 2. SW14 | Mortlake and East Sheen in Richmond | 14.7% | £109 (£741 up to £850) |
| 3. SW1 | Parts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Chelsea, Victoria and Vauxhall | 14.8% | £161 (£1,086 up to £1,247) |
| 4. SW8 | Parts of Vauxhall, Lambeth, Clapham and Stockwell | 15.1% | £135 (£897 up to £1,032) |
| 5. SW13 | Barnes in Richmond | 16.5% | £126 (£769 up to £895) |
| 6. NW5 | Kentish Town, Camden and Tufnell Park | 17% | £138 (£809 up to £947) |
| 7. SW10 | Parts of Chelsea and West Brompton | 18.7% | £184 (£985 up to £1,169) |
| 8. SE10 | Greenwich | 19% | £164 (£860 up to £1,024) |
| 9. SW6 | Fulham and Parson’s Green | 20.3% | £189 (£928 up to £1,117) |
| 10. EC1 | Farringdon, Clerkenwell and Finsbury | 21.3% | £211 (£989 up to £1,200) |
| 11. SW15 | Putney and Roehampton | 21.3% | £152 (£717 up to £869) |
Rental changes by region
Looking at average rental increases by postcode region, north, east/east central and south east all had average rent increases above the London average, whilst north west, south west and west/west central all fell below the five year average.
| Postcode region | Average five year rent increase by % |
|---|---|
| SE | 35.8% |
| N | 34.6% |
| E / EC | 34.2% |
| LONDON AVERAGE | 32% |
| NW | 28.9% |
| W / WC | 27.2% |
| SW | 26.3% |
Matt Hutchinson, Director at SpareRoom comments“It’s interesting to see that rental increases across the western half of London, including postcodes W, SW and NW all fall below the five-year average, whilst eastern postcodes are pushing beyond the average.
We used to see London as having a north-south divide in terms of affordability, but it’s become an east-west divide in recent years, particularly as transport has improved in the south and east of the Capital. East London has also seen plenty of new-build development over the last decade, with much of it aimed at young professional renters.
Rents have now started to fall slightly in London, but the five year figures are shocking, revealing just how unaffordable London has become. While many people are calling for rent caps in the Capital, it feels way too late for that. At what point will London simply become unaffordable for young professionals altogether?”
Notes to editors
* Based on a sample size of 286,939 over 5 years (Q2 2019 – Q2 2024)↩
** In a round-up of the 100 London rental locations that had increased most in popularity between 2021 and 2023, Abbey Wood came out top, having risen 41 places from 99th in the list to 58. This was based on an analysis of over 115 million searches on SpareRoom over three years↩
Based on data from SpareRoom’s Q2 Quarterly Rental Index