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Londoners are now spending nearly two-thirds of average income on rent as sky-high prices put even more homes out of reach.

Official figures released today show private-sector rent has rocketed up from 49 per cent of average pre-tax income to 62 per cent since 2010.

Six years ago, tenants spent more than half their income on putting a roof over their heads in only five London boroughs. That figure has now increased to 20 out of 32 in the capital.

As MPs prepare to vote on the Housing Bill in the Commons today, Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan warned that it would “do nothing” for Londoners struggling to pay their rent every month.

“If housing isn’t more affordable, it’s bad for Londoners and increasingly damaging for our businesses,” he said.

Rent rises since 2010 Richmond 26% Westminster 22% Hackney and Merton 21%

The House of Commons library rental figures, obtained by Labour, found the biggest rise was in Richmond, represented by Mr Khan’s Tory mayoral rival Zac Goldsmith, where rents had gone up 26 per cent since 2010.

In Westminster, the capital’s wealthiest borough, they went up 22 per cent, while Hackney and Merton saw rises of 21 per cent.

In Kensington & Chelsea, where rent now consumes 96 per cent of average income, it had also increased 21 per cent.

Mr Khan said the Bill would make the capital’s housing crisis worse, and called on the Government to make sure that local people got “first dibs” on new homes before overseas investors.

Mr Goldsmith, who was expected to break off from paternity leave to vote, has won a guarantee from ministers that two affordable homes will be built for every high-value council property sold off under right-to-buy plans.

“This shows the importance of having a Mayor who can work with the Government to deliver action on housing for people who live and work in Greater London,” he said.

The Tory candidate, trailing in the polls, claimed Mr Khan would bring “chaos and incompetence” to City Hall and do nothing to fix the housing crisis.

Meanwhile Green MP Caroline Lucas proposed setting up a living rent commission to look at ways to bring down the cost of renting, including addressing housing supply and the relationship between rent levels and landlords’ costs.

“Far too many people in Britain are struggling to make ends meet because of the unbearably high cost of renting — they deserve MPs’ support today,” she said.