Overview
- Online HomeSwapper listings publicised this week include multi‑bed properties in Notting Hill and Brixton advertised for roughly £720–£744 per month, far below private rents in those areas.
- Government figures for 2024–25 show average weekly rents for new social tenancies in London were £151, about 33% of local private sector rates, underlining a large gap between sectors.
- The Centre for Policy Studies estimates taxpayers spend about £18 billion a year supporting housing in London, with roughly £9 billion lowering social rents and another £9 billion paid through Housing Benefit and the housing element of Universal Credit.
- Analysts point to structural design as the cause: social rent formulas still use a 1999 valuation baseline and yearly caps on social rent rises that have typically lagged private rent increases, widening the gap over time.
- The government has said it is building more social housing and will seek to reduce regional rent disparities, but the reporting records no immediate policy changes to rent or benefit rules.