Revealed: how the cost of renting a room varies across London

A growing number of young professionals and students are choosing to house share, driving up the average cost of renting room in the capital, according to new research.

Fresh data from room share platform, ideal flatmate, shows that the cost of renting a single room in the capital has already increased by 2% in 2019, having jumped up by 13% between 2017 and 2018.

Between 2017, the average price of a room listed to rent on ideal flatmate was £781 a month, increasing 13% to £855 a month in 2018. With a continued lack of suitable stock and a reduction in buy-to-let investors, this figure has already climbed to £902 a month just two months into 2019, the figures show.

Westminster is currently the most expensive borough to rent a room at an average of £1,045 a month, followed by Camden at £999 per month on average.

When looking on a more granular level it’s Nine Elms that currently tops the table with an average monthly rent of £2,123 a month.

Other areas to see some of the highest rents for just a single room are Covent Garden, Upper Clapton, South Kensington, Knightsbridge, Church End, Bayswater, St James’s, North Finchley and Millbank – all at £1,200 or above.

North Woolwich was identified as the cheapest destination to rent a room at an average £350 a month, with Abbey Wood, Manor Park, Hither Green and West Norwood also some of the lowest.

Co-founder of ideal flatmate, Tom Gatzen, said: “Despite room sharing remaining the most affordable way of finding a place to live in London, it too is seeing prices increase as the capital’s rental market continues to strain under the pressure of a supply and demand imbalance.

“We’re currently seeing the price of room rentals in London increase at a rate of at least one per cent a month on average which is pretty significant for those already struggling to afford the overall cost of living in the capital.

“This cost increase has largely been driven by a reduction in the number of landlords and letting agents with rooms to rent as a result of the stamp duty shake-up, changes to tax thresholds and the impending ban on letting fees. Unless more is done to address this, we will continue to see the cost of renting lift across the board with the capital’s tenants ultimately the ones paying the price.”

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