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Living rooms are being turned into bedrooms because of sky-high London rents, a housing chief warned today.

Thousands of Londoners, including many young professionals, are in flats and houses where the living room has been converted into a bedroom according to David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation.

He said high rents meant there was a “very strong temptation” for landlords to convert the living room into an extra bedroom. “The demand is such that people are happy to accept that because there is nothing else,” he added. “I’m sure there are thousands of people now living in flats of that kind and the numbers are growing.”

More than 2,500 people from as many as 300 organisations were due to gather for a mass rally in central London today on the need to tackle the housing crisis.

Ken Loach, who directed Cathy Come Home, a film about the housing crisis and homelessness of the Sixties, was among those due to speak at the event at Methodist Central Hall.

Others included John Cridland, director-general of the CBI, the TUC’s Frances O’Grady, the Bishop of Rochester and senior politicians. The National Housing Federation said the value of private property nationwide grew by seven per cent between 2010 and 2013, from £4.2 trillion to £4.5 trillion.

Ninety-seven per cent of this increase — £282 billion out of £289 billion — took place in London and the South-East.

Spiralling property prices in recent years have meant thousands more young people have been unable to get on the property ladder, instead spending much of their income on rent.