London rents fall for two consecutive months

London rents fell for two consecutive months for the first time since February 2021. The average monthly room rent in the Capital was £1,030 in October, a record high. It fell to £1,026 in November and then again in December to £1,019, a sign that the rental market is (hopefully) steadying after a chaotic 2 years.

London’s ratio of renters to rooms, a key indicator of how the market is balanced, was 4.3 in December 2023, having been as high as 8.8 in September 2022.

Average London room rents in 2023

Jan - £952
Feb - £962
Mar - £963
Apr - £965
May - £985
Jun - £982
Jul - £995
Aug - £1,013
Sep - £1,027
Oct - £1,030
Nov - £1,026
Dec - £1,019

Average UK room rents also fell in December, down from a record high of £808 to £797, the first fall since December 2022 in 12 months.

Average UK room rents in 2023

Jan - £742
Feb - £748
Mar - £751
Apr - £757
May - £772
Jun - £776
Jul - £788
Aug - £794
Sep - £801
Oct - £806
Nov - £808
Dec - £797

Rents rose to record highs in every single one of the UK’s top towns and cities in 2023, so the picture has been incredibly bleak for renters. Our hope is that this slight cooling in the market, coupled with the traditional January increase in supply as cash strapped homeowners take in lodgers, will mean things are starting to turn around.

However, government has a huge task on its hands to make the rental market fit for purpose. Tenants are struggling and landlords are leaving the residential market in alarming numbers. The worrying fact is that the current tax system incentivises people to offer short term holiday lets over residential lets, which is ridiculous. We have a housing crisis, not a hotel room crisis.The simplest thing government could do in the upcoming budget is to level the playing field, to make renting to long term tenants a more attractive option.

*Data is for London & surrounds. Data is based on all ads live in that month and all people
actively looking for a room in that month (majority of ads include bills)