Definitions and methodology

Source data

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) data used to produce the London Rents Map is based on market rents from private rented sector lettings. Landlords, agents and tenants across England contribute this information. It is mainly used to help Rent Officers provide valuations for Housing Benefit purposes and Rent Act 1977 Fair Rent registrations. Rent Officers continuously evaluate and refresh lettings data to provide a representative sample of the private rented sector, and track the market.

For this site, the VOA has provided aggregate sample data on median, lower quartile and upper quartile weekly rents for each property type, postcode district (e.g. SE1 or N19) and borough in London. Combinations of property type and area (e.g. three bedroom properties in SE1) for which there are fewer than five examples in the sample are excluded for reasons of data confidentiality.

Definitions of property types

Room

Non self-contained single room with shared facilities. Includes bedsits, single rooms in a house or flat shared with other tenants, and single rooms rented from a resident landlord.

Studio

Self-contained one room property with own kitchen and bath/shower/wc facilities.

One bedroom, two bedrooms, three bedrooms, four+ bedrooms

Self-contained properties including houses, flats and maisonettes.

Indicators used

Median

The middle value in a range of numbers, or the value that separates the higher half of the range from the lower half. As a measure of the 'average' of a distribution, the median is distinct from the 'mean', which adds up each value and divides by the number of cases. In this case, the median has been used, as it is not distorted by very high values at the top of the range.

Lower quartile

This is the value that separates the lowest 25 per cent of a range of numbers from the remaining (higher) 75 per cent.

Upper quartile

This is defined as the value that separates the highest 25 per cent of a range of numbers from the remaining (lower) 75 per cent.

The differences between the lower quartile and median, and the median and upper quartile, give an indication of the 'spread' of values around the average.

Period covered

The data used to calculate the values shown in the map and the results table cover the most recent 12 months available. This tracks trends in rental values whilst smoothing misleading fluctuations that can result from using a lettings sample over a short timescale.

The data is published with around one month's lag. So for example that information published in early September covers the 12-month period up to the end of July. The London Rents Map data will be refreshed on a monthly basis, at the start of each month.

Disclaimer

As the data covers the most recent 12 months available and is based on a sample of private lettings it should only be interpreted as indicative of rental market patterns across London rather than a precise predictor of the current market. Market conditions can fluctuate greatly across London’s many localised and specialist markets. Neither the Valuation Office Agency nor the Greater London Authority takes responsibility for decisions taken as a result of data shown here.

The Valuation Office Agency has participated on the basis of a pilot research project. The lettings information on London Rents Map is provided and published on this basis and therefore does not represent official statistics.

The information published on London Rents Map should not in any way be confused with Local Housing Allowances that the Valuation Office Agency Rent Officers determine for Housing Benefit purposes. Information on Local Housing Allowances can be found on: lha-direct.voa.gov.uk, direct.gov.uk or from individual London local authorities.

All enquiries London Rents Map information should be directed to the Greater London Authority.