In These London Postcodes, Rents Are Still Cheaper Than Pre-Pandemic

No one needs to be told that renting in London is incredibly expensive. The average room rent in the capital has risen 13% year-on-year, and the city becomes even more affordable if you're single and/or a woman thanks to the widening gender rent gap.

"Despite a very tough pandemic period, the London rental market has bounced back at an alarming rate and rental values are now exceeding their pre-pandemic benchmarks in many areas of the capital," says Ahmed Gamal, founder and CEO of lettings website Rentd. 

"This has been driven by a revival in tenant demand, both domestic and foreign, as the city has returned to normality both from a professional and social point of view."

However, there is some mildly encouraging news for London renters. Though rents are now higher than pre-pandemic in 88% of the city's postcodes, this leaves 12% of postcodes in which they're still lower.

"Not every pocket of the London rental market has performed as well and tenants can still find some very good bargains when looking in the right place," says Gamal. "But, given the wider performance of the market, it’s unlikely these rental market bargains will be around for very long."

Sadly, some of these "bargains" are to be found in London's most central (and therefore most costly) neighbourhoods. In SW1 (Westminster and Belgravia), rents are 22% lower than pre-pandemic, while in W1 (Mayfair and Soho), they're 17% lower.

Thankfully, some of the other postcodes where rents remain lower are rather more realistic places to live. Rents are 13% lower in both NW11 (Golders Green) and SW5 (Earls Court). They're also 10% lower in TW10 (East Sheen, Ham and Richmond), 10% lower in N13 (Enfield), and 8% lower in N13 (Redbridge and Waltham Forest).

And, for anyone who thinks "west is best", they're also 7% lower in SW10 (West Brompton). So, if you're flat-hunting in London at the moment, this information could well prove useful – and needless to say, we wish you the very best of luck!