Wandsworth has been identified as the third least affordable place to rent in England, with tenants forced to spend 54% of their median income on housing, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The crisis has deepened over the past year, with average rents in the borough rising 8% to £2,522 per month – up 28% from five years ago.
The shocking statistics places our borough behind only Kensington and Chelsea (74.3%) and Westminster (55.8%) in a ranking that highlights the severity of London’s rental affordability crisis. Areas like Putney, which falls within Wandsworth borough, are particularly affected by this trend.
The scale of the problem
The ONS data shows that private renters across England are spending an average of 36.3% of their income on rent – well above the 30% threshold considered affordable and up from 33.1% in 2023. In London, this figure rises to 41.6%, with average monthly rents of £1,957 across the capital. Wandsworth outstrips both with 54% and a £2,522 monthly average rent.
Across Wandsworth, one-bedroom properties average £1,850 per month while four-bedroom homes reach £3,686. Property type also affects costs dramatically: semi-detached houses command £3,224 monthly, while flats average £2,234.
All 32 London boroughs have remained above the affordability threshold for eight of the nine years from 2016 to 2024, indicating this is not a temporary spike but a sustained problem affecting communities like Putney.
Why this matters for Putney’s community & economy
Beyond individual hardship, unaffordable rents threaten the foundation of what makes Putney a thriving community. UK research reveals the broader consequences when essential workers are priced out.
Newly qualified nurses are now priced out of every London borough, while teaching assistants would need 145% of their income to afford average rents in some areas. In London, 56% of nurses surveyed plan to leave within five years, with 58% citing unaffordable housing as the main reason. The Metropolitan Police now offers £5,000 bonuses just to recruit officers who can afford London living costs.
When key workers can’t afford local housing, the ripple effects spread throughout the community. Businesses struggle with recruitment and retention, while essential services face mounting pressure. Schools lose experienced teachers, hospitals struggle to staff wards, and local services that residents rely on begin to deteriorate.
Housing researchers have identified that when long-term residents are forced out, it breaks up social networks, local knowledge, and the community connections that make areas like Putney desirable places to live. This isn’t just about individual financial stress but about the systematic erosion of community bonds.
In essence, we risk losing the diverse mix of workers, families, and long-term residents who contribute to local businesses, schools, and civic life. When only the highest earners can afford to live locally, it undermines the economic and social fabric that makes neighbourhoods vibrant and sustainable.
What’s driving the crisis?
Several factors are making areas like Wandsworth increasingly unaffordable:
Income vs rent growth: While there was a period where wage growth helped improve affordability ratios (briefly in 2022-23), since 2021 rents have been rising faster than incomes, with this trend accelerating in 2024. Wandsworth’s 8% annual rent increase far outpaces typical wage growth.
Supply shortage: The rental market crisis is exacerbated by significant undersupply, with an average of six people competing for every available rental property across the UK, according to Propertymark.
Location premium: Areas like Putney command high rents due to excellent transport links, good schools, and proximity to central London, making them attractive to professionals who can afford premium prices.
Student and young professional demand: Areas near universities and with good transport connections see sustained high demand from renters willing to pay premium rates.
Local context: Wandsworth’s regulatory changes
The affordability crisis in Wandsworth comes at a time of significant regulatory change. From July 2025, the council introduced a new licensing regime for privately rented homes, marking a major departure from the borough’s traditionally hands-off approach.
The scheme requires landlords to obtain licenses for smaller shared homes (HMOs with 3-4 tenants) borough-wide, with fees up to £2,000 per property. In four wards around Tooting, all privately rented homes now require licensing. While Putney is not yet covered by the selective licensing scheme, the borough-wide HMO licensing affects properties throughout Wandsworth.
While designed to improve housing standards and protect tenants from retaliatory evictions, there are concerns about unintended consequences. Some worry that compliance costs could be passed on to tenants through higher rents, or that some landlords may exit the market entirely, further reducing supply in an already constrained market.
National trends worsen local situation
Wandsworth’s affordability problems are being compounded by a nationwide exodus of landlords from the rental market. New data from UK Finance shows buy-to-let mortgage approvals have plummeted by 14.5% to 49,590 in the three months to June, compared with 58,000 during the same period in 2015.
The decline represents a dramatic shift from the market’s peak of 83,175 approvals in late 2022, suggesting a fundamental change in investor appetite for rental properties. Mortgage brokers warn that the market is “undoubtedly heading towards professional landlords predominantly running the private rented sector” as costs force smaller landlords to sell up.
The trend is being driven by rising taxes, higher mortgage rates, and uncertainty over Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill, which would ban no-fault evictions and impose restrictions on rent increases.
Nearly half of all landlords in the private rented sector own only one property, contradicting assumptions about large-scale investors dominating the market. Many of these smaller landlords are consider leaving the market, especially under the threat of additional costs and regulations.
For areas like Putney, this creates a perfect storm: national policy uncertainty and rising costs are driving out smaller landlords, while local licensing requirements add additional pressure, potentially accelerating the supply shortage that makes rents unaffordable for key workers and families.
What can realistically be done?
Government response:
The government acknowledges the crisis, with a Ministry of Housing spokesperson stating they are “taking decisive action to fix the housing crisis and deliver 1.5 million homes.” They plan to increase supply through “the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation” backed by £39bn investment, while the Renters’ Rights Bill aims to cap advance payments and ban unfair bidding wars.
Local authority actions:
- Planning policies requiring affordable housing in new developments
- Better enforcement of housing standards to ensure value for money
- Support for housing associations and cooperative housing models
Market-based approaches:
- Encouraging build-to-rent developments
- Supporting innovative housing models like co-living spaces
- Improving transport links to make cheaper areas more accessible
The broader challenge
Tom Darling from the Renters’ Reform Coalition warns that while government rental reforms will improve security and standards, they won’t address the fundamental affordability crisis. “While millions are forced to spend less on essentials like groceries to afford their rent, the government will have a hard time making the case at the next election that they’ve delivered for renters.”
The data suggests this crisis will likely worsen before it improves. For areas like Putney and the wider Wandsworth borough, the challenge is finding ways to maintain the community character and local services that make these areas desirable while ensuring they remain accessible to a diverse range of residents.
The ONS figures serve as a stark reminder that London’s housing crisis requires urgent, coordinated action across all levels of government and the private sector to prevent entire communities from being priced out of their own neighbourhoods.
