Landlords in east London are set to benefit from the 5 per cent boost to their rental income on homes near to a London cycle hire docking station, says one of the capital’s leading letting agencies.
Ludlow Thompson, which supervises more than 4,500 lettings in east and south London, says landlords will be clear winners when the cycle hire scheme, pioneered by London Mayor Boris Johnson, extends into east London ahead of the Olympics.It will then include areas popular with tenants including North Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Bow and Mile End.
Some 4,200 docking points will be added and 2,000 more cycles put into circulation.Chris Dean, lettings director at Ludlow Thompson’s City and east London office, says the cycle hire scheme is so popular with tenants that properties near docking stations attract a 5 per cent boost to rental values.Dean comments: “Prospective tenants increasingly ask where the nearest docking stations are – the effect of the Boris bike scheme has had on the lettings market is far greater than anyone imagined.
”The agency thinks the eastward expansion will have the biggest effect on rentals for properties further away from Tube stations.Dean adds: “It has almost been a cast iron rule, that the closer the distance to a Tube station; the higher the rent on a property has been. Now a cycle docking station has a similar effect.“Often people use a Boris bike to get to the Tube, but even though it’s only part of their commute it can really speed it up.“East London has lots of property within a 30-minute cycle ride to Canary Wharf and the City.”