"Once inflation is taken into account, rental growth over the last 10 years has been largely stagnant and, in many areas, rents have actually fallen in real terms"
- Marc von Grundherr - Benham and Reeves
Recent research from London lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves shows that while average rents in London have climbed 39.2% over the past ten years, when adjusted for inflation the increase is only 0.7%. This suggests rising rents are driven more by economic factors than landlord greed.
Benham and Reeves analysed average monthly rents across all 32 London boroughs from May 2015 to May 2025. They compared nominal rent increases with figures adjusted using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to reflect inflation.
Their findings revealed that average rent grew from £1,616 in May 2015 to £2,249 in 2025, a £633 rise or 39.2% increase. However, once inflation is considered, the real increase is just £15 per month, representing 0.7% growth.
Rental growth varies significantly across London. The boroughs with the highest real-terms increases include:
Barking and Dagenham, where rents are up 16.5%, or £229 more per month after inflation
Havering, with a 16.3% rise (£211)
Bexley, up 14.3% (£182)
Redbridge, which saw 12.0% growth (£180)
Waltham Forest, rising 7.4% (£120)
By contrast, many traditionally expensive boroughs have experienced rent declines when adjusted for inflation, including:
Westminster, where rents dropped 4.9% (£168 less monthly)
Richmond upon Thames, down 3.9%
Camden, with a 3.1% decrease
Kingston upon Thames, falling 2.8%
Kensington and Chelsea, down 2.3%
In total, 12 of London’s 32 boroughs showed real-terms rental decreases, suggesting that higher nominal rents largely reflect inflation rather than profiteering.
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said, “There’s a widespread perception that landlords are to blame for the sharp rise in rents, particularly in London, but the data tells a very different story. Once inflation is taken into account, rental growth over the last 10 years has been largely stagnant and, in many areas, rents have actually fallen in real terms."
“This underlines the real issue in the rental sector: a severe mismatch between supply and demand. Landlords face higher mortgage costs, tighter regulations, and increasing taxation, yet many are not passing those costs on at the rate people assume. If anything, this data highlights the need to support landlords, not vilify them, if we want a functioning private rental sector.”
