Average rents for a one-bedroom home take up 30% of a typical salary for people in their 20s in two thirds (65%) of postcodes, BBC research has found.
Many housing organisations regard spending more than a third of income on rent as unaffordable according to many housing organisations. Using this logic people need to earn £51,200 to afford to rent a one-bed London home.
To afford the average one-bedroom rental flat in England under the 30% measure a gross annual income of £24,800 would be required, while in Wales 17,600 is needed and in Scotland £20,700.
David Smith, RLA policy director, said: “With a majority of under 35s living in rented housing, it is young people now facing the consequences of the supply crisis facing the private rental market.
“The government’s own data shows that across England there was a loss of 46,000 private rented homes in England in 2016/17, a result of tax increases on the sector.
“The demand for homes to rent is not expected to slow, whilst figures from the RLA’s research arm, PEARL, warn of a net loss of 133,000 homes for rent over the next year.
“Given the scale of the housing crisis ministers need to support the development of new homes to rent alongside all other tenures.”
Dan Wilson Craw, director of lobby group Generation Rent, said: "This research is more evidence of how difficult it is to lead the life you expect. If you get a job and work hard, you should expect to have some choice about living arrangements.
"People in areas with a strong jobs market have to find somewhere to share with others in order to afford to live there."
The data reveals the importance of location in determining how big a chunk of their monthly salary is likely to be spent on rent.
