London Rental Yields by Borough — 2026
Borough-by-borough London rental yields for 2026, combining HM Land Registry / ONS sold-price data (Feb 2026) with Zoopla buy-to-let rent data (Mar 2026). The illustrative net-yield column is a labelled PropertyWiki model, not a regulated investment recommendation.
London-wide context
Zoopla's March 2026 buy-to-let table puts London's gross rental yield at 5.1%, with an average rent of £2,119 per month and an average buy-to-let purchase price of £494,542. That puts London below every other UK region for gross yield, but above every other UK region for absolute rent levels.
The picture inside London is sharply tiered. Outer east boroughs deliver yields close to 5.5%, while prime central boroughs fall well below 4%. The table below sorts a representative cross-section of boroughs by gross yield so investors can compare income profiles before considering capital growth, tenant quality, voids and financing risk.
Rental yields by borough — March 2026
| Borough | Avg sold price | Avg monthly rent | Gross yield | Illustrative net yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | £310,000 | £1,450 | 5.6% | 4.2% |
| Bexley | £395,000 | £1,550 | 4.7% | 3.5% |
| Havering | £410,000 | £1,575 | 4.6% | 3.5% |
| Croydon | £380,000 | £1,500 | 4.7% | 3.5% |
| Newham | £410,000 | £1,800 | 5.3% | 4.0% |
| Tower Hamlets | £480,000 | £2,100 | 5.3% | 4.0% |
| Lewisham | £420,000 | £1,750 | 5.0% | 3.8% |
| Hackney | £620,000 | £2,300 | 4.5% | 3.4% |
| Islington | £690,000 | £2,500 | 4.3% | 3.3% |
| Camden | £780,000 | £2,650 | 4.1% | 3.1% |
| Richmond upon Thames | £797,000 | £2,302 | 3.5% | 2.6% |
| Westminster | £1,050,000 | £3,200 | 3.7% | 2.7% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | £1,350,000 | £3,750 | 3.3% | 2.5% |
Sources: ONS local housing statistics (HM Land Registry / UK HPI sold prices, Feb 2026); Zoopla rental yields (Mar 2026). Illustrative net yield = gross yield × 0.75 (PropertyWiki net-yield model — operating-cost deduction before mortgage interest and tax).
Methodology
Average sold prices come from ONS local housing statistics, which use HM Land Registry / UK HPI data for completed transactions in February 2026. Average rents are sourced from Zoopla's March 2026 buy-to-let table where the borough is published and from the equivalent ONS rent indicators where it is not. Gross yield is computed as (average monthly rent × 12) ÷ average sold price.
The illustrative net-yield column is a PropertyWiki model: published gross yield × 0.75, in line with the 25% operating-cost deduction used on the UK rental-yield rankings page. It is not a tax calculation, valuation, mortgage cost projection or regulated investment recommendation. Real-world net yields depend on financing structure, void periods, agency fees, licensing, repairs, insurance, marginal tax rate and Section 24.
HM Land Registry sold-price data normally lags completion by two to three months and is subject to revision; Zoopla rent data is updated monthly. Treat borough-level numbers as directional — small samples can move the published average meaningfully in any single month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Zoopla's March 2026 buy-to-let table puts London's gross rental yield at 5.1%, against an average rent of £2,119 per month and an average buy-to-let purchase price of £494,542. The figure is below every other UK region but reflects the highest absolute rents in the country.
Outer east London boroughs — Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Tower Hamlets — typically deliver the highest gross yields in this table, in the 5.0–5.6% range. Yields fall sharply through the prime central boroughs of Westminster (≈3.7%) and Kensington and Chelsea (≈3.3%).
The illustrative net-yield column applies a flat 25% operating-cost deduction to the published gross yield, mirroring the model used on the UK rental-yield page. It is a simple PropertyWiki model, not a tax calculation, valuation or regulated investment recommendation.
Average sold prices are drawn from ONS local housing statistics for February 2026 (UK HPI / HM Land Registry); average rents and the London-wide gross yield use Zoopla's March 2026 buy-to-let table. Both can be revised in later releases.
London's 5.1% gross yield is the lowest of any UK region in the Zoopla March 2026 dataset; Sunderland, Aberdeen and Burnley all post yields above 8%. London's appeal is capital preservation and global liquidity rather than running yield.
PropertyWiki Team
Editorial Team
Published: May 9, 2026
Updated: May 9, 2026
PropertyWiki's editorial team curates UK property data using HM Land Registry, ONS and UK Finance sources.