A CHARITY is demanding that the next Mayor of London focuses on the cost of renting as new research shows Hillingdon families need to earn a fortune to survive.

Housing is ‘unaffordable’ in the borough for anyone earning less than £39,500, according to figures released by Shelter last week.

Shelter’s Homes for London campaign found that a Hillingdon family would need to take home more than £2,710 each month, equivalent to a yearly pre-tax salary of £39,500, to secure a two-bedroom property.

Figures, based on rent taking up no more than a third of household income, found that Londoners were more likely to be paying up to half of their income in rent.

The typical London household income was found to be less than £35,000 per year.

The report found that the rate of inflation on private rents in outer London was three times the rate of inflation on the average outer London wage in 2011.

With almost one in four London families now renting from a private landlord - a surge of 70% in the past two years - Shelter's Homes for London campaign is demanding the next Mayor uses his influence to make housing a top priority.

Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said: "These findings paint a worrying picture of families across Hillingdon being stretched to the limit by the high cost of renting, praying they won't be hit by another rent rise that could tip them over the edge.

"Hillingdon's renters will be looking to the next Mayor to fix London's out-of-control rental market and give them some stability and predictability with their housing costs.”