London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s claim that tenants in the capital will face rent payments of up to £2,700 per month has been fact-checked by the BBC.

Khan also said last month the average take-home salary for a Londoner was £2,131, as he repeated his call for a rent freeze.

There are 2.7 million renters in London, the Mayor said, and the housing crisis as well as cost of living pressures, were hitting them hard.

New data shows a two-year rent freeze could save London renters £3,374 on average, he said.

So necessary

Khan said: “These figures reveal the clearest picture yet of why rent controls are so necessary.

“Private renters make up nearly a third of everyone living in the capital, but they are being consistently let down by a Government that refuses to listen and take urgent action to protect them from even greater financial hardship,” he said.

I will not stop advocating for this lifeline on their behalf.”

“Londoners re-elected me on a manifesto pledge to push for the powers to control rents, and I will not stop advocating for this lifeline on their behalf.”

The BBC Radio 4’s More or Less programme, analysed the figures used by Khan and his office. They were helped by Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Science.

Projection

They found that the Mayor used a combination of Rightmove rent figures and a projection of a 5% increase from Savills, to reach the figure of £2,700 per month next year.

But this average was for rentals of all sizes, including properties with multiple rooms, and was only for new rentals.

Also, the salary figure used of £2,131 was for this year, and was the income of a single person not a couple or a household.

Call for two-year rent freeze as London rents ‘spiral out of control’