Croydon is London’s most affordable commuter rental hotspot
Renting in a London borough with good transport connectivity can cost you 101% more in rent according to the latest research by international rental marketplace Spotahome. The research also shows that tenants pay £87 in rent for every train or tram stop present in each borough of the capital.
Spotahome first looked at the number of train or tram stations and the average rental cost in each borough. Spotahome then looked at what this equated to as a rental cost per station. The numbers show that on average an underground, overground, DLR or tram link commands £87 in rent for every station located in a borough.
Croydon is London’s best-connected rental hotspot in terms of the sheer number of stations and the affordable cost of renting. It has the highest total number of train and tram stations in London (42) and the second most affordable average rental cost (£1,136). Combined, this equates to a transport rental cost of just £27 per station, the lowest in London.
Bromley is also home to a low rental cost per station at £43 in rent for each of its 31 stations. Newham (£51), Ealing (£52), Tower Hamlets (£56), Lewisham (£60), Merton (£61), Brent (£61), Havering (£62) and Enfield (£62) also rank high for the affordability of their rental cost per train or tram station.
With just five tram or train stations and an average rent of £1,407, Harrow is home to the highest rental cost per station at £281.
Spotahome also looked at each borough based on its PTAL score and the cost of renting. A PTAL score is a detailed and accurate measure used by Transport for London. It essentially measures the density and accessibility of the public transport network at any location within Greater London.
The figures show that the least connected areas with a PTAL score of between 0-10 are home to an average rental cost of £1,360. This climbs to £1,706 for boroughs with a PTAL score of between 10+-20 and again to £2,459 for boroughs scoring 20+-30. For boroughs scoring over 30, the average rent jumps to £2,732; 101% higher than those in the lowest PTAL score bracket.
A clear indication that areas with better transport connectivity command a higher rental price.
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London Boroughs ranked by the lowest rental cost per train or tram station
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Borough
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Total stations (underground / overground / railway / DLR / tramlink)
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Average Borough Rent
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Rental Cost per Station
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Croydon
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42
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£1,136
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£27
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Bromley
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31
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£1,321
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£43
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Newham
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28
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£1,424
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£51
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Ealing
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28
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£1,463
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£52
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Tower Hamlets
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32
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£1,803
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£56
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Lewisham
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22
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£1,324
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£60
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Merton
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25
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£1,530
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£61
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Brent
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25
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£1,535
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£61
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Havering
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19
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£1,169
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£62
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Enfield
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21
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£1,310
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£62
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Hillingdon
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19
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£1,270
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£67
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Barnet
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19
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£1,523
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£80
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Haringey
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19
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£1,558
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£82
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Greenwich
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17
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£1,404
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£83
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Southwark
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20
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£1,654
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£83
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Lambeth
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21
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£1,754
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£84
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Westminster
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35
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£3,018
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£86
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Camden
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29
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£2,536
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£87
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Redbridge
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15
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£1,318
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£88
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Bexley
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11
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£1,106
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£101
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Hounslow
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14
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£1,432
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£102
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Sutton
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11
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£1,167
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£106
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Waltham Forest
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12
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£1,309
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£109
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Islington
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16
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£1,914
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£120
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Richmond upon Thames
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15
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£1,857
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£124
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Hammersmith and Fulham
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17
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£2,117
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£125
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Wandsworth
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15
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£1,883
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£126
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City of London
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18
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£2,446
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£136
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Hackney
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13
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£1,834
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£141
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Kingston upon Thames
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9
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£1,390
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£154
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Barking and Dagenham
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7
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£1,194
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£171
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Kensington and Chelsea
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12
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£3,053
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£254
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Harrow
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5
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£1,407
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£281
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Average
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19
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£1,697
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£87
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London Boroughs ranked by the highest PTAL
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Borough Name
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PTAL Score
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Average Borough Rent
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PTAL Bracket
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PTAL Bracket Average Rent
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City of London
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90.80
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£2,446
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30+
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£2,732
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Westminster
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39.75
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£3,018
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Islington
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26.67
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£1,914
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20+-30
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£2,256
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Camden
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24.32
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£2,536
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Kensington and Chelsea
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23.26
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£3,053
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Lambeth
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22.24
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£1,754
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Southwark
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20.51
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£1,654
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Tower Hamlets
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18.53
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£1,803
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10+-20
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£1,706
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Hackney
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17.48
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£1,834
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Hammersmith and Fulham
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16.33
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£2,117
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Wandsworth
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13.97
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£1,883
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Haringey
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12.61
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£1,558
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Lewisham
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12.59
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£1,324
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Newham
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11.08
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£1,424
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Brent
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9.22
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£1,535
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0-10
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£1,360
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Merton
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8.56
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£1,530
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Ealing
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8.50
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£1,463
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Greenwich
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8.38
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£1,404
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Waltham Forest
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7.83
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£1,309
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Croydon
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6.76
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£1,136
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Hounslow
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5.84
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£1,432
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Harrow
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5.82
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£1,407
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Redbridge
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5.73
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£1,318
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Barking and Dagenham
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5.58
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£1,194
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Barnet
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5.54
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£1,523
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Kingston upon Thames
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5.43
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£1,390
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Sutton
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5.40
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£1,167
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Richmond upon Thames
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4.90
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£1,857
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Enfield
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4.63
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£1,310
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Bexley
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4.55
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£1,106
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Bromley
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3.59
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£1,321
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Hillingdon
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3.56
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£1,270
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Havering
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2.75
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£1,169
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