Prime Central London's rental capital revealed by agent

A new analysis by agency and property consultancy JLL has revealed which borough within Prime Central London has the highest concentration of private rental units.

JLL says Kensington & Chelsea and City of Westminster both have some of the highest volumes of privately rented homes in the country. With more than 40 per cent of homes privately rented, these boroughs help keep private renting as the dominant tenure in PCL.

Despite a high proportion of privately rented homes, demand continued to outstrip supply in 2022. As the new year starts so rental stock levels across prime central London remain below historic levels, as more tenants renew, and fewer new rental properties reach the market.

The number of properties available to let at the end of Q4 2022 was 13 per cent higher than at the same point in 2021, when stock levels bottomed out, but remain 45 per cent lower than in 2019.

Rents are also higher than they were a year ago. The JLL prime central London Index recorded a 6.1 per cent annual increase in achieved rents in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile rents achieved in Q4 2022 were 8.2 per cent higher than they were pre-pandemic in Q1 2020.

Marcus Dixon, director of UK Residential Research at JLL, comments: “Rental values continue to increase across all price brackets, although rates of growth are falling back. The highest growth is still being recorded for properties commanding lower average rental values. 

“Properties let at under £1,000 per week have seen rents rise by 8.1 per cent annually while those with rental values over £3,000 per week increased by a more modest 2.2 per cent.”

On the sales side, JLL says 2022 was a record-breaking year for prime central London. Buyers spent almost £5.2 billion on homes, nine per cent higher than in 2021, and the highest amount spent for more than a decade.

Dixon adds: “Prime central London has not been immune to political and economic uncertainty that has overshadowed the UK market in recent months. 

“On one hand there is less reliance on debt in the prime market than in mainstream, meaning fluctuations in interest rates have less of an impact, however increased uncertainty, and a higher proportion of discretionary purchasers in PCL have resulted in prices falling back in Q4”