Flats to Rent in Barking and Dagenham

Renting in Barking and Dagenham

Barking and Dagenham grew faster than almost anywhere in England in the decade to 2021: its population rose 17.7% between the censuses, to about 218,900. That was the third-largest rise of any local authority in England, against 7.7% for London (ONS). Renting grew with it. The share of households renting privately rose from 17.7% to 24.2%, while 42.4% owned their home and 31.5% rented from the council or a housing association (ONS Census 2021).

On the ONS measure in the table above, the borough's average rent is below the London average for every size of home, and below neighbouring Newham for every size; Redbridge is a little cheaper for one- and two-bedroom homes. Council tax is a little above average: Band D is £2,198.51 in 2026/27, about £131 a year more than the London average of £2,068 (MHCLG).

Licensing: almost every privately rented home needs one

Barking and Dagenham licenses private rented homes across all 19 wards. Selective licensing, for homes let to a single household or to two people sharing, runs from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2030 in three designation areas that together cover every ward. Additional licensing, for homes shared by three or four people from two or more households, has applied to the whole borough since 9 January 2025, for five years. Homes shared by five or more need a mandatory licence instead. Ask the landlord for the licence number before you sign.

The neighbourhoods

Barking

Barking station is the borough's main interchange: the District and Hammersmith & City lines, c2c trains to Fenchurch Street and Southend, and the Suffragette line (London Overground), which runs from Barking Riverside through Barking and Walthamstow to Gospel Oak. The town centre runs along East Street, where the market trades, and Barking Abbey's ruins lie on Abbey Green beside St Margaret's Church, which is Grade I listed. The abbey was founded in the 660s, and its Curfew Tower gateway, from about 1460, appears on the borough's coat of arms.

Barking Riverside

Barking Riverside is a new district on the Thames, built by Barking Riverside Limited, a joint venture of the Mayor of London and L&Q. Its station opened on 18 July 2022, in Zone 4 on the Suffragette line, and its pier has Uber Boat by Thames Clippers services. Building will continue around the new homes for years.

Becontree

The London County Council built the Becontree estate between 1921 and 1935: about 26,000 homes, with about 1,000 more added later, at the time the largest public housing estate in the world. About two-thirds of its houses were later bought under the right to buy (Inside Housing), and some are now let privately, so this is where to look for a house with a garden. Upney, Becontree and Dagenham Heathway stations are on the District line, and Valence House, a museum and the borough's archive, is in Valence Park. Parsloes Park, opened in 1935, marked the estate's completion.

Dagenham

Dagenham Heathway is the main shopping street, and Dagenham East, on the District line, is near the old village around the church of St Peter and St Paul. Ford's Dagenham works opened by the river in 1931, and Dagenham Dock station, on the c2c line, serves the industrial riverside. Eastbrook Studios, a film and television studio with 12 sound stages on Yew Tree Avenue, opened in January 2025. The plan to move Smithfield and Billingsgate markets to Dagenham Dock ended in November 2024, so ignore older articles that promise it.

Chadwell Heath and the north-east

Chadwell Heath station, on the Elizabeth line, straddles the boundary with Redbridge, and its trains run through Stratford and Liverpool Street to central London. Eastbrookend Country Park is on the borough's eastern edge, near Rush Green.

Getting around

The District line calls at Dagenham East, Dagenham Heathway, Becontree, Upney and Barking, and runs on to the City, Westminster and Victoria; the Hammersmith & City line starts at Barking. c2c runs from Barking to Fenchurch Street, and the Elizabeth line at Chadwell Heath serves the north. Only Barking and Barking Riverside have the Overground. Check a specific commute on the TfL Journey Planner at the time you would travel before you sign.

Schools

The state secondaries include All Saints Catholic School, Barking Abbey School, Dagenham Park Church of England School, Eastbrook School, Eastbury Community School, Goresbrook School, Greatfields School, Jo Richardson Community School, Riverside School, Robert Clack School, The Sydney Russell School and The Warren School. Barking and Dagenham College is the main further education college. Ofsted no longer gives a single overall grade, so read each school's latest report and its admissions criteria.

Parks and open space

The larger green spaces include Eastbrookend Country Park, Beam Valley Country Park, Parsloes Park, Central Park, Mayesbrook Park and Barking Park, and the Thames riverside at Barking Riverside is opening up as building finishes.

Safety

The borough's crime figures say little about a particular road. Check the one you are considering on police.uk, which maps reported crime month by month, and compare it with the roads nearby.

Who it suits

Barking and Dagenham suits renters who want a lower rent than in Newham with a District line, c2c or Elizabeth line station, and families looking for a house with a garden on the Becontree estate. It suits less well anyone who wants a finished neighbourhood at Barking Riverside now, or a landlord who has not licensed the property.

Useful links

Barking and Dagenham Council: lbbd.gov.uk (council tax, property licensing, school admissions)
Crime by street: police.uk
Journeys: tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey

The listings above are homes and rooms advertised by their landlords in Barking and Dagenham now. Almost every privately rented home here needs a licence, so ask each landlord for the licence number.