London’s best rental spots for lonely hearts as lockdown eases

With lockdown measures easing this weekend, many isolated Londoners will finally be able to venture out in search of other singletons and the best chance of finding them is in Islington, Hackney or Lambeth.

However, for those on a more long-term mission, the latest research by international rental marketplace Spotahome has looked at which London boroughs offer the best mix of affordable rental costs coupled with the highest percentage of single people.

Spotahome ranked each borough based on the average cost of renting for every percentage of the population that is single.

On average across London, 44% of people are single and with the average rent costing £1,644, that’s £37 per month in rent for every percentage of single people.

Lewisham ranks as the best place in London to break lockdown boredom and expand your bubble. With 50% of people in the borough listed as single and an average rental cost of £1,316, the rental cost per single score is just £26; the lowest across the capital.

Croydon also ranks high, with 40% of people in the borough classed as single, an average rental cost of £1,140 and a cost per single score of just £29 per month in rent.

Barking and Dagenham, Waltham Forest and Southwark are also some of the most affordable boroughs with the highest number of singles, coming in at £31 per month in rent for every percentage of single people living there.

Hackney, Newham, Bexley, Lambeth and Hillingdon also rank highly.

The least affordable rental spots for lonely hearts are Kensington and Chelsea (£63), Westminster (£59) and Richmond (£50). All are home to a rental cost per percentage of single people of £50 or above.

Lowest rental cost for every one percentage of single people in each London borough.
London borough	% of singles	Average rent pm	£ cost per % of singles score point
Lewisham	50%	£1,316	£26
Croydon	40%	£1,140	£29
Barking and Dagenham	39%	£1,208	£31
Waltham Forest	43%	£1,352	£31
Southwark	55%	£1,718	£31
Hackney	58%	£1,842	£32
Newham	45%	£1,453	£32
Bexley	34%	£1,092	£32
Lambeth	58%	£1,908	£33
Hillingdon	36%	£1,200	£33
Sutton	35%	£1,151	£33
Kingston upon Thames	39%	£1,306	£33
Tower Hamlets	55%	£1,835	£33
Haringey	50%	£1,669	£33
Islington	60%	£2,003	£33
Enfield	38%	£1,292	£34
Greenwich	43%	£1,476	£34
Hounslow	39%	£1,352	£35
Havering	33%	£1,169	£35
Brent	42%	£1,502	£36
Wandsworth	54%	£1,958	£36
Hammersmith and Fulham	56%	£2,117	£38
Redbridge	35%	£1,311	£38
Ealing	41%	£1,569	£39
Bromley	34%	£1,307	£39
Barnet	37%	£1,499	£40
Merton	40%	£1,640	£41
Camden	55%	£2,302	£42
Harrow	32%	£1,387	£43
City of London	51%	£2,274	£45
Richmond upon Thames	37%	£1,835	£50
Westminster	51%	£3,046	£59
Kensington and Chelsea	48%	£3,023	£63

London	44%	£1,644	£37
Rate of single people per borough sourced from NOMIS.
Rental figures sourced from the Office for National Statistics.