If rents continue at the same pace, the average two bed home in the capital will surpass the £2,000pcm mark by 2020, it has been warned.

Tom Copley, Labour’s London Assembly Housing Spokesperson, has claimed that if rents continue to rocket it would mean that in 2020, a single earner household would need to earn almost £120,000 a year for their rent to be affordable.

Using rental data spanning from November 2004 to March 2015 it has been revealed that in this time frame, renters have had to fork out £8,000 more a year than they would have had to in 2004.

This sustained increase is even more pronounced as wages in the capital have not increased at the same rate. According to housing charity Shelter, a household should not spend more than a third of their net income on rent. Yet it has been estimated that by 2020, a single earner household would need a pre-tax salary of £118,000 to comfortably afford a two-bed flat in London.

If split between two earners, each would need a salary of £49,655 per year; however the average London income stands at £35,000.

Average rents for three and four bedroom properties have already surpassed the £2,000 mark, but if this growth in rents continues, by 2025, a three bed home could cost £3,500pcm, and a four bedroom £5,600pcm.

Tom Copley commented: “These figures show just how broken the London rental market has become. We desperately need to call time on ever increasing rents.”

“Most other western economies exercise some form of regulation over rent increases, many of which have much larger and better functioning private rented sectors than we do in London. With the number of private renters in the capital due to overtake the number of home owners, it’s about time the capital followed suit,” he added.