London’s “last affordable pocket” is disappearing as rent prices in the south east are rising the fastest out of anywhere in the capital.

According to figures released by SpareRoom, while the cheapest rent you can get in London is still in the south east, rent is up across the board, with Blackheath in particular rising by £96 per month.

That’s a 16 per cent rise for the Greenwich town, while Forest Hill has also had an increase by 11 per cent in the space of a year.

The average London room rents fell by 1 per cent from this time last year, but in south east London is rose by 2 per cent.

South east London still also has some of the most affordable rent, with the three cheapest places to rent in London being Abbey Wood, Thamesmead, and Eltham.

Thamesmead and Eltham average rent is £523, while average rent in Abbey Wood is the lowest of all at £506.

Compare this to somewhere like West End and Soho, where the average cost to rent is £1,023 per month.

The South East used to be considered affordable, but that’s rapidly changing, as homes in north London were the ones that saw a 3 per cent decrease in rent over the course of a year.

Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, said: “Although falling rents in the capital might seem like good news, the headlines mask a worrying affordability trend.

“Rents might be coming down in more expensive areas but, as long as they continue to rise in cheaper areas, those on middle and low incomes will carry on feeling the squeeze.

“South East London is the focus of London’s growth now. It’s historically been the capital’s cheapest area, largely due to its reliance on trains rather than tubes.

“That’s all changed in recent years, with the Overground extensions through Forest Hill and Peckham bringing more people South East in search of cheaper rents.”

“We’ve reached the point where London’s last affordable pockets are fast disappearing. Some might say we passed that point a while ago.

“So, while the latest data may look, on the face of it, like a win for London’s long suffering renters, it’s a case of every silver lining has a cloud, rather than the other way round.”