Housing rental costs - how they have changed!

There is an interesting graphic doing the rounds on social media, in the form of a London Underground (tube) map, showing housing rental costs for each station area.  For me it's a real eye opener,  as I lived in London between 1981-1986, and so it's interesting to see how London area rents have rocketed since then.

My flat in Stoke Newington, rented from the London Co-operative Society's property division, cost me all of £12 per week when I moved into it in 1981. Compare that to the one I had left in Kendal which cost me £8 per week, so even then a 50% increase on rentals. Now the difference in rents between here and London is even-more marked.

Stoke Newington isn't served by the tube, but a quick check of estate agents reveals that a one bedroom flat there will cost around £400-£500 per week, whereas you would be paying that per month for the same sort of space in Kendal. So instead of it being a 50% increase of cost, current London v. Kendal rents equate to a 400% increase.

How on earth do young people especially afford that? How does anyone afford those levels of rent? How does that impact on people wanting or needing to move south for work opportunities like I did in 1981?

It brings home to me just how much of an issue is (a) housing costs and (b) the North-South divide in housing issues.  This is why new Labour Party leader,  Jeremy Corbyn, has long been making the point about private rent controls being needed and why housing has long been one of his priorities.