YOUNG people have half of their pay packet swallowed up by rent, with twenty-something Londoners paying even more for housing, a new report reveals today.

According to research by estate agent Countrywide, single working people aged 22 to 29 renting one-bedroom homes spend around 48 per cent of their post-tax salary on rent.

In London, nearly 60 per cent of their income goes on housing — a 16-point increase on 2007. Countrywide research director Johnny Morris said: “In London, rents have risen much faster than wages, stretching affordability.

“Many tenants have adapted to rising prices by either moving to cheaper areas further from the centre or sharing.”

And even Londoners who have a flatmate are still forced to shell out a third of their pay on rent for a two-bed home. The average cost of a one bedroom home across Britain is £746 a month, with the figure rising to £1,133 in London.

Countrywide’s findings come shortly after general union GMB found that rents have shot up by over 50 per cent in parts of the capital over the last five years. In 11 of the 33 London boroughs, average rents have increased by 30 per cent or more since 2011, a study by the union revealed last week.

GMB senior officer Warren Kenny said the figures “show that the housing crisis in London is getting worse as rents soar under a Tory government.”

He added: “There is a free-for-all in the London housing market at a time when wages for essential public-sector workers are frozen. “Some workers in the capital, like cab drivers, even face pay cuts.

“This position is not sustainable and new thinking is needed to deal with it.”