Londoners are paying record rents as growing demand and a supply shortage hit
Average rents in the capital exceeded £1,500 for the first time ever in May, according to new data.
Landlords are seizing on rising demand and a lack of supply to charge the record rates, the data from rental insurance and reference-checking firm Homelet indicates.
Its Rental Index showed that the average rent in Greater London rose 9.2% to £1,472 in the three months to the end of May, but for new tenancies in May alone prices had hit £1,506 a month.
Londoners are already paying around double what renters in the rest of the UK are charged, though rents are rising across the country, Homelet said.
The figures underscore the severity of the housing crisis facing the capital.
Earlier this year Mayor Boris Johnson upped his target for homebuilding in the capital to 42,000 a year to address the shortage, but construction is thought to be well behind that goal.
In 2014, only a third of the new homes needed in London were built, according to the National Housing Federation.
Housing is set to be a key battle ground in the 2016 London mayoral election, with a number of candidates including Tessa Jowell and Labour rival Sadiq Khan naming it among their top priorities for the city.
