Half of London rental properties exceed average monthly income

One in five rental properties in Britain has a monthly rent equal to the average income, while some cost a full year’s salary just for a single month, according to Benham and Reeves.

The average person in Britain takes home £35,481 per year – equating to £2,957 per month.

According to estate agents Benham and Reeves, 22% of rental properties are currently listed with a monthly asking rent at, or above, that of the average monthly earnings of £2,957.

Rents have soared in recent times

Nearly half (47%) of rental properties in London have asking rents higher than the average monthly income in Britain. Meanwhile, the East Midlands is the most affordable, with only 2.5% of rents above this income level.

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, says the lack of supply is causing an increase in rent prices.

He said: “Rents have soared in recent times and our research demonstrates just how tough it is for the average person, with one in five rental properties commanding asking rents that require an entire month’s income or more.

“Unfortunately, there’s no end in sight when it comes to the rental crisis and this is largely due to the fact that we simply don’t have an adequate level of stock to meet demand – an issue our new Labour government seems set on exacerbating.”

Mr Grundherr adds the government must do more to help landlords invest in the private rented sector.

He said: “We are seeing properties let at pace, often before they’ve even reached the market, with numerous tenants all fighting it out for a single property, which, of course, drives prices ever higher.

“If we don’t incentivise landlords to invest into the buy-to-let sector in order to address the imbalance of supply and demand then who knows, we might all be looking at a monthly rent of thirty-odd thousand pounds a month before too long.”

Monthly asking rents at or above the £35,000 threshold

According to Benham and Reeves, a small portion of rental properties in Britain have monthly asking rents at or above the £35,000 threshold of the average annual income. However, these high-cost listings account for just 0.3%.

These super prime lets are almost exclusively located in London, with the capital accounting for 96% of them, although there are a few scattered across the South East (2.4%), North West (1%) and South West (0.3%).

Westminster is home to the highest volume of London’s super prime lets at 160, with these properties accounting for 3.3% of all Westminster rental listings.

Kensington and Chelsea sit second at 80, with other boroughs home to super prime rental listings including, Camden (14), Barnet (13), Brent (3) and Hounslow (2), whilst the City of London, Haringey, Islington and Southwark also boast one super prime let each.

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