The average rent for a room in inner London has reached £1,002 per month, figures from Spare Room show.
For the purpose of its research, flat-sharing website defines inner London as the eight traditional London postcodes: E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W & WC.
SpareRoom says that room rents in inner London were up by 2.3% in the third quarter, compared to the second, and by 1.1% year on year.
Rents are now just below the record of £1,003 set in the final quarter of 2023.
The supply of rooms in flat-shares in the area fell by 7.3% compared with a year earlier, while supply in outer London declined by 1.7%.
Average outer London room rents stood at £800 a month, down 0.2% year on year.
For Greater London as a whole, the average room rent was £932, 0.6% higher than a year earlier.
However, the picture is very different across London’s postcode.
The average rent for east London postcodes was £958 a month, compared with £1,065 in south-west London, where rents rose 2.4% year on year.
The SW7 postcode, covering South Kensington and Knightsbridge, was the most expensive at £1,682 a month, more than double the £752 average in E12 Manor Park.
The largest annual increase was recorded in SW3 Chelsea, where average room rents jumped 16.6% to £1,472.
This was followed by SW7, up 13.3% to £1,682, and SW5 Earl’s Court and West Brompton, where rents rose 12.4% to £1,397.
By contrast, rents in N21 Winchmore Hill fell 17% to £761, while W8 Holland Park recorded a 7.1% decline to £1,340.
SpareRoom director Matt Hutchinson says: “With average rents now into four figures, to affordably rent an average room in a London flatshare people will need a gross salary of at least £40,000.
“That excludes many, including some essential and service workers, and young people starting their careers.
“Choked supply increases rents, so tumbling rental stock in the capital should concern everyone, as should the absence of any plan to improve the situation.”
The index is based on almost 103,000 London room adverts, excluding whole properties.
The calculations use the mean of asking rents cited in adverts, including bills.
