Top 10 cheapest areas to rent: Londoners are heading to Bexley borough where rents are half the average price

Londoners in search of cheaper rents should head to Bexley in the south-east corner of the capital where costs are half the average price, according to exclusive new research.
Image: Getty
Lizzie Rivera22 April 2016

Erith and Belevedere in the south-east borough of Bexley have been named as the cheapest places to rent in the capital, according to the latest Rightmove Rental Tracker.

Average prices for two-bedroom flats are £1,013 and £1,064 a month respectively, almost half the London average, yet direct train services reach London Bridge station within 40 minutes. Belvedere sits one stop further down the line, which also stops at Woolwich, an area set to gain high-speed Crossrail links from 2018.

With rents rising by up to 21 per cent in some parts of the capital in the past year alone, it is no surprise that the most affordable areas also are becoming the most in-demand among renters.

Hornchurch tops the list as the most popular area searched for by would-be tenants. This quiet commuter town in Essex is 17 miles from central London, with trains to Liverpool Street taking about 40 minutes.

Along with being the cheapest area to rent in the capital, previously little-known Erith, north-east of Bexleyheath and north-west of Dartford, is now the second most popular area for renters in London, too.

Top 10 cheapest places to rent in London

1/10

Romford in east London is another Crossrail hotspot and is currently the capital's eighth cheapest area for renters. House prices have risen by a staggering 27 per cent over the past year to an average of £267,000 thanks to town-centre regeneration in anticipation of the new rail link, but rental prices are yet to catch up.

In Zone 6, Romford is a major shopping town and trains take half an hour to Liverpool Street. Neighbouring Rush Green, and Rainham further south, are also two of the cheapest areas to rent in London.

Just south of Crystal Palace, South Norwood and Anerley offer average monthly rents of under £1,180. They are very well-connected, with direct links to Victoria and London Bridge, plus they are on the London Overground to Dalston and Highbury and Islington.

Wallington, an up-and-coming tech hub near Croydon, has rents of about £1,120 and a 40-minute commute to London Victoria. It also has a farmers' market on the second Saturday of each month.

MORE ABOUT