Driven out: bus drivers, cleaners and other key workers can no longer afford to rent in London

There is now not a single London borough that would be affordable for a bus driver, cleaner or care worker to rent in, according to a new report from Generation Rent.

Teaching staff are the worst affected of all key workers. It would currently cost more than the entirety of a teaching assistant’s salary to rent the median one-bedroom home in inner London, and almost half of the salary of a primary or secondary school teacher.

Campaign group Generation Rent has crunched the numbers to show how London’s key and essential workers have been pushed out of the city that relies on their labour.

“Just a few years ago we were clapping on our doorsteps every week for key workers. Now they risk being driven out of our city because of soaring rents,” said Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent.

“If those working in vital jobs cannot afford to live in the area, everyone loses out.”

“For communities to survive, local people must be able to stay healthy, receive an education, find a safe home to live in and purchase basic goods. But if those working in vital jobs cannot afford to live in the area, everyone loses out.”

Generation Rent has called on the Government to grant the Mayor of London “the power to slam the brakes on local rents and give our key workers the breathing space they need”.

A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan said the report “lays bare” the urgency of the Mayor’s calls for rent control (PA Wire)

It also demanded the Government to prioritise building more affordable and social rental homes in the capital.

“This report lays bare why Sadiq’s calls for a devolved system of rent control alongside the ending of section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and investment in new homes have never been more urgent,” a spokesperson for the Mayor of London told Homes & Property.

“The Mayor continues to call on the Government to invest the £4.9 billion that’s needed each year”

“The Mayor has repeatedly warned of the consequences of unaffordable private rents and it’s the key workers our city relies on who are among those hardest hit,” they added.

“The Mayor continues to call on the Government to invest the £4.9 billion that’s needed each year to build genuinely affordable housing as well as urgently passing the Renters (Reform) Bill and devolving the power for rent control to give renters breathing space — ensuring a better, fairer London for all.”

Generation Rent compared salaries from 15 key roles across education, healthcare, social care, construction, retail, commerce and hospitality.

Going by the metric of an affordable home being one that takes up 30 per cent or less of income, no London borough is affordable for chefs, community workers, hairdressers, hospital porters, kitchen assistants, decorators, pharmacy assistants, receptionists or sales assistants.

Even outer London boroughs traditionally seen as more affordable, such as Croydon and Hillingdon, would take upwards of 40 per cent of even the more highly paid key workers’ salaries.

Key workers increasingly have to move elsewhere to make a living or commute long distances to their workplaces.

The rental crisis has been compounded by a dwindling supply of privately rented homes. Landlords have also passed along the costs of increased mortgage rates after 14 consecutive hikes to the base rate from the Bank of England to curb inflation.

According to the latest rental index from Hamptons, average London rent has jumped 8.1 per cent in the past year alone to £2,215.

Register now for one of the Evening Standard’s newsletters. From a daily news briefing to Homes & Property insights, plus lifestyle, going out, offers and more. For the best stories in your inbox, click here.