Romford: the suburb with the highest rental yield for investors

Romford recorded the highest average rental yield among London suburbs at 6.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, according to Land Registry and Rightmove data compiled for the borough of Havering.

The figure stands out because average London house prices now exceed £500,000, squeezing net returns in Zones 1-3 while outer boroughs benefit from Elizabeth Line connectivity and renewed interest from private landlords after the stamp duty surcharge on additional properties was eased last year.

Properties near Romford station on the Elizabeth Line and along the High Street show the strongest demand from tenants commuting to Canary Wharf and the City, with one-bedroom flats achieving £1,450 a month and two-bedroom terraces reaching £1,850.

Local drivers behind the numbers

The Brewery shopping centre and the nearby Romford Market continue to anchor footfall, while the council’s ongoing regeneration programme around the station has added new apartment blocks that landlords are snapping up for rental portfolios. Havering’s planning department approved 1,200 new homes in the Romford area between January 2025 and June 2026, many of them bought by limited companies set up after the stamp duty reform.

Across the borough, the average property price sits at £425,000, compared with £620,000 inside the North Circular. At current rents this produces the 6.4 per cent gross yield, ahead of neighbouring Ilford at 5.9 per cent and Barking at 5.7 per cent.

What landlords should check next

Investors looking at Romford should review the latest Section 24 tax rules on mortgage interest relief and confirm they qualify for the reduced stamp duty rate on second homes introduced in April 2025. Checking void periods at specific postcodes such as RM1 1 and RM7 7 against local letting agents provides the clearest picture of net returns before committing funds.