London Living Right is an intermediate rent option designed to help middle-income Londoners rent a good-quality home at a more stable, below-market rent, while building savings towards buying through Shared Ownership.
London Living Rent: what it is?
London Living Rent is part of the Mayor of London’s Homes for Londoners programme. Homes are mostly delivered by housing associations (and sometimes councils or build-to-rent partners) using funding from the GLA’s Affordable Homes Programme.
The headline idea is simple: rents are linked to local incomes (rather than just the private rental market), so that tenants can save towards a deposit for a Shared Ownership home.
Tenancies are offered for a minimum of three years, with the goal of buying on a Shared Ownership basis within around ten years.
London Living Rent myths
Myth 1) London Living Rent is the same as social housing
Reality: London Living Rent is not social rent.
It’s an intermediate affordable rent product aimed at middle-income households who earn too much to qualify for many forms of social housing but still struggle to save while renting privately.
London Living Rent is designed as a “rent-to-save” route, where the lower rent should make it easier to build a deposit and then buy via Shared Ownership.
Myth 2) London Living Rent is only for key workers
Reality: London Living Rent is open to applicants who meet the eligibility criteria. It’s not restricted to key workers.
That said, individual developments can have priority groups (for example, people who already live or work in a specific borough), and competition can be high, so it’s worth reading the advert carefully before you apply.
Myth 3) If you rent through London Living Rent, you’re stuck renting forever
Reality: London Living Rent is designed as a stepping stone to home ownership.
Providers are expected to support you to save and move on to buying through Shared Ownership, with an expectation that homes are sold within around ten years.
In other words, London Living Rent is built to help you progress to buying and not to keep you renting.
Myth 4) London Living Rent is the same price wherever you live in London
Reality: London Living Rent is not a flat-rate scheme.
Rents vary by neighbourhood and home size because they’re benchmarked against local household incomes, not set as one London-wide figure.
The Mayor publishes updated benchmark levels each year, so what counts as “affordable” in one area may be different in another.
London Living Rent also notes that the average two-bedroom rent is a London-wide guide, not a universal rent for every home.
Who is eligible for London Living Rent?
So, what are the rules around London Living Rent eligibility? Exact criteria can vary slightly but the GLA’s core eligibility rules are consistent.
In general, you must:
- Live or work in London,
- Be currently renting (or living with family/friends because housing costs make it hard to rent independently),
- Not already own a home, and
- Be unable to buy in your local area (including via Shared Ownership).
There is also a maximum household income threshold.
Income caps and household circumstances
The standard maximum household income for London Living Rent is £75,000.
You’ll need to show payslips, bank statements and other proof of income, and you must not own (or be in the process of buying) another residential property.
Savings, deposit and affordability checks
Even though you’re renting, you’ll usually need enough funds up front to cover the move-in costs.
Many providers ask for one month’s rent in advance plus a five-week tenancy deposit.
You should also expect an affordability assessment (sometimes via an independent financial adviser) and referencing checks.
Must you live or work in London?
Yes. The baseline rule is that you must live or work in London.
Some homes also require a more local connection, such as living or working in the borough where the development is located, so always check the listing for any additional “local priority” rules.
How London Living Rent prices are set
London Living Rent rents aren’t decided by an individual landlord the way they are in the private market.
Each year the GLA publishes benchmark rents for neighbourhoods across London.
These benchmarks are calculated as roughly one-third of local household incomes, with adjustments for property size and location.
From the January 2026 update (for homes let in 2026–27), benchmark monthly rents were also capped at £1,750.
To protect family-sized homes, the rent for a three-bedroom London Living Rent home is set at no more than 10% above the two-bedroom rent.
And to give you a sense of scale, City Hall reports the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom London Living Rent home to be let in 2026–27 is around £1,409, just under two thirds of the average market rent in December 2025 (reported by the Office for National Statistics).
How rents compare to market rent (and what “discounted” means)
‘Discounted’ doesn’t mean there is one fixed percentage reduction from market rent.
The key point is that London Living Rent is income-linked, so the gap between it and private-market rents can be much larger in some areas than others.
City Hall’s 2026–27 figures suggest that the average two-bedroom London Living Rent home is priced at around two-thirds of average market rent across London but the actual difference varies by neighbourhood and property size.
How to find and apply for London Living Rent homes
Most London Living Rent homes are advertised through the Mayor’s Homes for Londoners property search tool. You can also find listings directly via housing associations offering London Living Rent such as Peabody New Homes.
- Find a suitable listing and check the eligibility and priority criteria (including any borough connection requirements).
- Register your interest / apply and submit initial information about your household, income and current living situation.
- Provide supporting documents (commonly ID, proof of address, payslips, bank statements and details of any debts or financial commitments).
- Complete affordability and referencing checks (sometimes through an independent adviser), then arrange a viewing if you’re shortlisted.
- Pay move-in costs (often one month’s rent in advance plus a five-week deposit) and sign the tenancy if you’re offered a home.
For more information on applying for London Living Rent with Peabody New Homes, see our London Living Rent - how it works page.
Please note that while London Living Rent homes aren’t currently available with Peabody, new homes will be launching soon.
What happens after you move into a London Living Rent home?
Once you move into a London Living Rent home, the focus is intended to be both stable renting and helping you progress towards home ownership over time.
London Living Rent providers are expected to support tenants’ pathways into home ownership, although the type of support varies between landlords.
Rent increases are usually controlled by the terms of the tenancy agreement and are often linked to inflation measures such as CPI.
London Living Rent tenancies are commonly offered for at least three years, with some schemes allowing tenants to remain for longer periods and in certain cases up to around ten years.
Renewals or extensions may be possible if you continue to meet eligibility requirements and comply with the tenancy agreement.
Providers may also review your financial circumstances and progress towards saving for home ownership.
Policies on moving borough or transferring to another London Living Rent home vary between landlords and schemes.
Some providers may allow transfers, for example, if you need a larger or smaller home, but you would usually need to pass eligibility and affordability checks again, and any move would depend on availability.
If flexibility to move is important to you, it’s worth asking about transfer policies early on, as they differ between providers and developments.
Your pathway to Shared Ownership or buying
The intended “next step” from London Living Rent is buying via Shared Ownership.
If your circumstances improve and you’re ready, you may be able to purchase a share of your home (or another shared ownership home), using the savings you’ve built while paying below-market rent.
Providers generally expect this to happen within the life of the scheme (often around ten years).
If you don’t buy by the end of the scheme term, you may not be able to renew and could be required to move out, so it’s worth treating London Living Rent as an active savings plan rather than a long-term renting solution.
Frequently Asked Questions about London Living Rent
London Living Rent is a affordable rent scheme backed by the Mayor of London that offers homes at rents linked to local incomes (roughly one-third of local household income).
It’s designed to help middle-income Londoners save for a deposit and move into shared ownership within the life of the scheme.
In general, you can apply if you live or work in London, are currently renting (or living with family/friends because housing costs make renting independently difficult), don’t already own a home, and can’t afford to buy in your area (including through shared ownership).
You’ll also need to meet affordability and referencing checks set by the provider.
The standard maximum household income limit is £75,000, though some providers or developments may apply additional affordability rules.
Usually, yes. While requirements vary, many providers ask for a tenancy deposit (commonly around five weeks’ rent) and one month’s rent in advance at move-in.
It depends on where the home is and how many bedrooms it has, because London Living Rent is set using neighbourhood benchmarks.
As a guide, City Hall reports the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom London Living Rent home to be let in 2026–27 is around £1,409, and benchmark rents are capped at £1,750 (from the January 2026 update).
