Renting in a sustainable city could cost you 179% more in rent

June 19, 2020

The latest research by the international marketplace, Spotahome, has found that opting to live and work in one of Europe’s most sustainable cities will set you back 179% more per month compared to those at the other end of the scale.

Using data from the European Cities SDG Index, an index ranking each city’s sustainability based on factors such as work and economic growth, education quality, poverty, hunger, pollution and more, Spotahome looked at the average cost of renting across each bracket of sustainability.

70%+ Sustainability – £1,027

The research shows renting in a city that is 70% or further towards reaching their goal of sustainability will set you back £1,027 a month on average. Stockholm is the most expensive (£1,098) while Oslo is the most sustainable (£1,074) and Helsinki is the most affordable in the sustainability segment (£908).

60%-69% Sustainability – £952

The cost of renting then drops to £952 a month for cities reaching between 60% and 69% of their sustainability goals with major EU cities such as Paris (£1,060), Berlin (£822), London (£1,760), Dublin (£1,517) and Brussels (£751) all ranking in this segment of sustainability.

50%-59% Sustainability – £613

As the level of sustainability success drops further, so does the cost of renting and in cities reaching half to 59% of their sustainability targets, the average cost of renting sits at £613 per month. This includes cities such as Madrid (£883), Barcelona (864), Lisbon (£810), Rome (£839) and Milan (£1,042).

Below 50% Sustainability – £368

Athens is the only city in the list to see its efforts at sustainability fall below 50%, currently at 48.6% with the city home to an average rent of £368; 179% lower than the cost of renting in a city in the top segment.

Sustainability Threshold
City
Average monthly rental cost
70%+
Oslo
74.8
£1,074
£1,027
Stockholm
74.2
£1,098
Helsinki
71.3
£908
60-69%
Copenhagen
68.7
£1,193
£952
Zurich
67.5
£1,611
Lyon
64.9
£593
Paris
64.7
£1,060
Munich
64.2
£1,115
The Hague
63.7
£916
Eindhoven
63.5
£1,000
Amsterdam
63.5
£1,424
Rotterdam
63.4
£1,017
Luxembourg
63
£1,387
Hamburg
63
£787
Bordeaux
62.6
£591
Vienna
62.5
£782
Ljubljana
62.5
£530
Berlin
62.1
£822
London
62
£1,760
Nuremberg
61.9
£649
Antwerp
61.7
£633
Dublin
61.6
£1,517
Marseille
61.4
£521
Frankfurt
61.2
£937
Brussels
60.4
£751
Bratislava
60.2
£553
Prague
60.1
£693
50-59%
Madrid
59.7
£883
£613
Tallinn
59.5
£481
Barcelona
59.1
£864
Warsaw
57.8
£573
Zagreb
57.1
£426
Vilnius
56.8
£451
Milan
56.8
£1,042
Turin
56.4
£505
Riga
56.3
£371
Budapest
55.4
£428
Sofia
55.2
£346
Lisbon
55.1
£810
Rome
55
£839
Bucharest
54.4
£370
Valletta
53.8
£944
Nicosia
53.7
£469
Porto
53.5
£621
Below 50%
Athens
48.6
£368
£368

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