Rooms for rent in west London were among areas that dragged down the average rental price in the UK in the first quarter of 2021, as the pandemic continues to act as a weight on the market. Room rents in the capital are now down significantly for the fourth consecutive quarter with the average London room rents dropping by 8%, from £771 ($1,070) in Q1 2020 to £706 in Q1 2021. According to new figures released by SpareRoom in its quarterly rental index, room rents in every London region were down year-on-year. The west-central area of London saw the biggest drop (-20%), followed by east-central (-17%) and west (-11%). The London postcodes where room rents have reduced the most include SW1 (Westminster/Belgravia/Pimlico) -25%, W1 (West End/Soho) -23% and W8 (Holland Park) -21%, dropping from £1,117, £1,169 and £1,144 to £833, £904 and £900 respectively. Excluding London, UK rents are up 1% year-on-year, SpareRoom found. In fact, the only UK region apart from London to experience a decrease in room rents was the West Midlands, down 1%. Alongside London’s sustained decline in rents, SpareRoom research reveals a marked fall in demand v supply for rentals across the capital since the start of the pandemic.