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Listen, you don’t need us to tell you that living in London is spenny. But seeing the cold, hard, numbers can still be pretty eye-watering. And with the cost of living crisis, they keep going up and up.
Research by the Evening Standard has revealed the average cost of renting a flat in each London borough, and damn, some of it ain’t pretty.
Topping the chart of pricey places to live is (probably unsurprisingly) Kensington and Chelsea, where it costs an average of £3,300 per calendar month to rent a flat. Close behind is Westminster, where it costs an average of £2,950 per month to rent. In third place, and costing a bit less, is Camden, where flats cost an average of £2,499 per month in rent.
The east London boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets, both popular with young people, have average rents of £2,119 and £2,069 per month, respectively. Meanwhile, the cheapest place to rent in the capital is Bexley, where rent costs an average of £1,326 per month – just behind Sutton at £1,366 per month.
With astronomical hikes in energy bills, council tax, and broadband, not to mention inflated prices of food and travel, it’s likely that the cost of living squeeze could tempt some Londoners to seek out cheaper rent or move elsewhere to get more bang for their buck.
The figures confirm what we know already: moving to a tube zone further out will probably help save hundreds of pounds of your hard-earned cash. Obviously, that means more to spend on seven pound pints, sourdough and avocados.
Average monthly flat rent by London borough
Kensington and Chelsea: £3,300
Westminster: £2,950
Camden: £2,499
Hammersmith and Fulham: £2,384
Islington: £2,203
Wandsworth: £2,176
Hackney: £2,119
Tower Hamlets: £2,069
Southwark: £2,064
Lambeth: £2,027
Richmond upon Thames: £1,939
Newham: £1,754
Greenwich: £1,670
Hounslow: £1,615
Brent: £1,600
Merton: £1,768
Ealing: £1,734
Haringey: £1,717
Barnet: £1,683
Kingston upon Thames: £1,616
Lewisham: £1,603
Waltham Forest: £1,595
Harrow: £1,547
Enfield: £1,511
Redbridge: £1,483
Hillingdon: £1,448
Bromley: £1,436
Barking and Dagenham: £1,410
Croydon: £1,371
Havering: £1,363
Sutton: £1,366
Bexley: £1,326
Source: Evening Standard.
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