The average rent for a room in inner London was £1,002 a month, according to figures from the Spare Room gallery.
For the purpose of his research, he defines the location of flatsharing within London as the eight traditional London postcodes: E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W & WC.
SpareRoom says room rents in inner London rose by 2.3% in the third quarter, compared to the second quarter, and by 1.1% year-on-year.
Rents are now just below the record £1,003 set in the last quarter of 2023.
The supply of rooms in apartments in the area fell by 7.3% compared to the previous year, while supply in outer London fell by 1.7%.
Outdoor room rents in London averaged £800 per month, down 0.2% year-on-year.
For Greater London as a whole, the average room rent was £932, 0.6% higher than the previous year.
However, the picture is very different across the London postcode.
The average rent for postcodes in east London was £958 per month, compared to £1,065 in southwest 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 average of £752 in E12 Manor Park.
The biggest year-on-year 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 at N21 Winchmore Hill fell 17% to £761, while W8 Holland Park recorded a 7.1% fall to £1,340.
“With average rents now reaching four figures, to affordably rent an average room in a shared flat in London, people would need a gross salary of at least £40,000,” says Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom.
“This excludes many, including some essential and service workers, and young people starting their careers.
“The supply bottleneck leads to higher rents, so the decline in rents in the capital should worry everyone, as should the absence of any plan to improve the situation.”
The index is based on approximately 103,000 room listings in London, excluding entire properties.
Accounts use the means of requesting rents mentioned in advertisements, including invoices.
