Londoners earning the National Living Wage of £12.21 an hour would need to work 63 hours a week- close to two full-time jobs – to keep their housing costs within the standard affordability measure of spending no more than 30% of income on rent, according to new analysis from flatshare site SpareRoom.
Even if the government raises the National Living Wage to £12.70 in the upcoming Budget, as reported, a Londoner on that rate would still need to work 60 hours a week to meet the same benchmark.
Shared accommodation remains the most affordable option, yet even Londoners paid the higher, voluntary London Living Wage of £14.80 would still need to work 52 hours a week to keep rent below 30% of their income.
In reality, many low-paid essential workers are spending 40%–50% of their gross wages on rent. For instance, a nursery assistant on the average salary of £24,420 now spends 49% of their income on housing.
London rents have risen 37% over the past five years to £995 per month in Q3 2025. They first passed the £900 mark in late 2022, peaked in late 2023 at £1,015 per month, and are now approaching £1,000 once more. Huge demand post-pandemic had a steep upward effect on rents in the capital which have never recovered, as shown in the graph below:
The table below shows average London salaries across five essential worker roles and the proportion of income spent on renting an average room in the capital. In all cases, it’s far higher than the recommended 30%:
| Average gross annual salaries for London-based essential workers | % of salary spent renting an average room in inner London (£995/month) |
| Nursery assistant: £24,420 | 49% |
| Cleaner: £25,195 | 47% |
| Care worker: £26,175 | 46% |
| Labourer: £26,481 | 45% |
| Ambulance driver: £29,946 | 40% |
Matt Hutchinson, director of flatshare site SpareRoom, said: “In her Budget, the chancellor must address the housing crisis. While the Renters’ Rights Act brings much needed protections for tenants it does nothing to tackle the problem of already unaffordable rents. Either the Government has to do more to help people meet the high cost of living, or it must look at creative ways to reduce rents quickly. Renters don’t have time to wait for housebuilding targets to be met.
“London can’t function without its essential workers; they’re the lifeblood of the city but, increasingly, they’re being priced out. Renter demand continues to build in suburban and commuter towns like Esher, Twickenham and Aldershot, as people head further afield in search of cheaper rents. But long, expensive commutes are not the answer to the capital’s housing problems, and especially not for lower-paid shift workers who may be working long or antisocial hours.
“This isn’t just a London problem, it’s happening in other urban areas too. Cities rely on essential workers, as does the economy. This isn’t just an issue for a handful of people, it’s becoming a national epidemic.”
