Percentage of net income on rent in London

mouche

Our first flat in London was in Zone 4 - I rented with my husband but if I'd been single it would have cost me 36% of my take home pay. It was a single bed over a shop but it was independent not a house share.

Second flat was a two bedder also Zone 4 and would have been 42% of my (increased) pay.

Third one is also Zone 4 but a different area and is 3 bed house. Costs the same as Flat 2.

We have a double income (well, not currently, but usually) and in our early 30s so not the same situation. But the example shows you it really depends on where you choose to live and where you work. I have always worked in Zone 1 so my travel costs are £169 a month.

I would say try not to spend more than a 3rd of your income on rent but again it depends on where you work, how much you are willing to travel and where you are willing to live.

kudos_ni

tonynz wrote: »

Hi I know this has been done before but I can't find up-to-date threads.

Anyway I was wondering what % do you guys spend on rent vs. income in London?

Also what Zone do you live in would be nice so I can get an idea about the costs of living in London!

Thanks

My rent is about 20% of my take home pay. I am on a very good salary but I have chosen to live in zone 3 because, even though i could afford to, I don't want to pay a huge amount towards someone elses mortgage.

I have some colleagues and friends who spend around £1000 a month to rent a room, and some more than than in 1 bedroom apartments.

It's totally up to you. There are cheap places to live, and expensive places to live.

I had a friend who was on less than £20,000 but wanted to live in islington, so the majority of her pay went on rent! Which to me is crazy.

I choose to live further out. Ok, it take me an hour to get to work every day, but it means I have more money to play with at the end of the day (and can try to start saving towards a deposit so i can pay my own mortgage one day instead of someone elses.)

You just have to decide a few things:
How far are you willing to travel to work?
Do you want to share or live on your own?
Do you want enough money to properly enjoy all the fun stuff london has to offer, or spend all your money paying rent?

I know what my answers are!

tonynz

kudos_ni wrote: »

My rent is about 20% of my take home pay. I am on a very good salary but I have chosen to live in zone 3 because, even though i could afford to, I don't want to pay a huge amount towards someone elses mortgage.

I have some colleagues and friends who spend around £1000 a month to rent a room, and some more than than in 1 bedroom apartments.

It's totally up to you. There are cheap places to live, and expensive places to live.

I had a friend who was on less than £20,000 but wanted to live in islington, so the majority of her pay went on rent! Which to me is crazy.

I choose to live further out. Ok, it take me an hour to get to work every day, but it means I have more money to play with at the end of the day (and can try to start saving towards a deposit so i can pay my own mortgage one day instead of someone elses.)

You just have to decide a few things:
How far are you willing to travel to work?
Do you want to share or live on your own?
Do you want enough money to properly enjoy all the fun stuff london has to offer, or spend all your money paying rent?

I know what my answers are!

I am in the same position as you - Currently I live in Zone two with a huge room and my monthly rent about 18% of my net pay per month.

But considering living in central but that will mean that it will be about 45-55% of my net monthly rent which I just can't do.

I think I'll stick to Zone two and do what I want with a spare cash - donate some to Haiti or treats for my self

princeofpounds

I think also looking at zones is a bit misleading. Zone 2 in particular can vary from the ridiculously expensive village suburbs to the cheap and crummy east london sink estates.

tonynz

princeofpounds wrote: »

I think also looking at zones is a bit misleading.
Zone 2 in particular can vary from the ridiculously expensive village suburbs to the cheap and crummy east london sink estates.

True, well I currently live in Willesden Green....

Jowo_2

tonynz wrote: »

I meant around £800-£1200 per month.... as much as I would love to live in these areas. (Victoria)... it would mean I can't save up

Living in Westminster, Zone 1, which has Chelsea and Pimlico and other desirable spots, is like living in Manhatten or central Tokyo so I'm not surprised its an arm and a leg. I'm only ever surprised when those on average salaries are surprised they can't afford to live within walking distance of their work in central London.

I sometimes see 'wanted' ads on the Gumtree where tenants are offering to pay what equates to Zone 4 shared room rates but are expecting to have a self-contained flat in the centre of London (with all bills included!).

Good luck to them if they get the bargain they are seeking but, as in the case of many things, you get what you pay for in London. If tenants want to live in Fulham or Chelsea, they are going to have to pay two or three times the cost of living in New Cross or Seven Sisters.

BitterAndTwisted

I've heard that in Seven Sisters landlords are paying their tenants to live there

roses

Average for a nice place in a safe area of zone 2 seems to be about £650/month including bills.

Before I bought, my rent was about 1/3 inc bills for a nice room in a shared house.

Obviously you can get cheaper but the quality tends to reflect this.

Have you looked on gumtree? They have a fantastic map feature where it shows you all the ads on a map & you can click to see the rent.

Where do you work? Commuting can be hell so if you like your job then the best thing to do is rent somewhere along the same tube line as your job.