That’s the finding in the latest HomeLet Rental Index which says the London rental figure is 85% dearer than the average of £777 for the rest of the country.
The index, which monitors the rent agreed by agents rather than advertised prices, also highlights that London’s average rental price is nearly 140% higher than renting a home in the North East, where the average rent is £512 a month.
Ian Fraser, HomeLet’s managing director, said: “Taking into account the increase in rental prices and the rise in inflation, tenant budgets in London are more strained than ever.”
Mr Fraser also predicts London tenants will face further rent rises this year.
He points to a falling supply of buy to let rental properties and that rents tend to increase nearer the summer.
In addition, he believes that the new so-called ‘bedroom tax’ which will affect how much those on benefits receive if they have a spare bedroom, will inevitably lead to rent rises as people move from social housing into private rented properties.
Mr Fraser says there is a need to build affordable new homes for rent and purchase and this will help boost supply.
Across the UK the average rental increase has been 4.5% in the past year.
However, there was a fall in rents between December 2012 and January of 0.6%, but the Index reports that prices will inevitably rise again.
The only region in the UK where the average price for rent decreased is the East Midlands, which saw the average rent drop by 2.1% in 2012 to £554 per month.
With figures for Greater London removed, the Index reveals that the average cost of home rental in the UK rose by 1.8% in the past year to £662 per month.
After London, tenants in Scotland saw the highest annual increase in rents of 6% to £582.
