Renting in Tower Hamlets 'now more expensive than in leafy Richmond'
07-02-2014
Soaring rents in popular east London boroughs such as Hackney and Tower Hamlets have overtaken those in affluent west London areas for the first time, a study claims today.
Intense demand for flats and houses in the east among young Londoners has pushed rents in Hackney up more than 9 per cent over the past year to an average £2,125 a month, according to latest data from online agent Move with Us Rental.
This is higher than the average £2,105 in Wandsworth in south west London, which are virtually unchanged over the same period.
In Tower Hamlets an 8 per cent increase has pushed monthly rents up to an average £2,208, but in Richmond they fell by 3 per cent to £2,195.
Young Londoners have been attracted to live in east London in huge numbers in recent years. Ironically this was often because it was seen as a cheaper place to live than wealthier west London.
Robin King of Move with Us said: “There has been a reversal of fortunes in London with new trendy neighborhoods in the east becoming the new popular places to rent in the capital.
The trend has been accelerated by the explosion of jobs in the tech and creative industries in “edge of City” areas such as Shoreditch and a thriving restaurant, bar and art scene that has pushed London’s economic “centre of gravity” further to the east.
The findings came as campaign group Generation Rent launched its manifesto of measures to help the thousands of Londoners “barred” from property ownership because they pay so much in rent they cannot afford to save for a deposit.
The document calls for £1 billion of public money to be spent on affordable homes to be built on state owned land. These would be sold to buyers at close to the cost of building them. However, in return owners would give up the right to any profits - beyond the rise in inflation - when they came to sell the home.
The proceeds would be used to build more properties under the same model. The Renters Manifesto is launched at a reception in Westminster tonight.
Alex Hilton, Director of Generation Rent, said: “As speculators have snapped up London’s houses, prices have risen so far people living and working here have simply given up on ever buying a home.
“Most people want to buy somewhere to live, not something they can flip for a profit, and this is what our bubble-free housing market offers them.”
Public relation executive Richard Kay, 26, who lives in Hackney and has moved flats twice in the past six months, welcomed the proposal.
He said: “I don’t care about buying a house for it to go up in value – I just want somewhere to live that’s mine and will give me some stability. If I could buy something that was cheap even if it wouldn’t make me a millionaire, I’d grab it with both hands.”