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Have London's ridiculous rents finally broken us? Tenants are leaving the Big Smoke at the highest rate in a decade: according to research, last year 40 percent of renters moving house chose to leave the city, the largest exodus in ten years.
For 90,370 people, having instant access to Torres crisps, Perello olives and independent craft breweries wasn’t enough to keep them in London, where rents have reached an all-time high.
Many opted for counties neighbouring the city such as Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey. Tandridge, Epping Forest, Sevenoaks and Broxbourne were also popular, and 38 percent of movers relocated to the Midlands or the north in 2022, compared to 27 percent in 2019.
In 2022, 62,210 homeowners moved out. Contrastingly, in 2021 more homeowners left London than renters for the first time in ten years.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at estate agent Hamptons, explained that people fleeing London were likely to be in their mid to late thirties, looking for more space and a better quality of life.
As rents continue to rise (RIP our bank accounts), more tenants are likely to ditch London in favour of greener, cheaper pastures. See you in Margate, before we all inevitably get bored and move back to the city after six months!
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