Flats to Rent in Havering

Renting in Havering

Havering is London's easternmost borough, where the suburbs run out into Essex farmland: a large share of it is Metropolitan Green Belt. Its towns are Romford, the biggest, and Hornchurch, Upminster, Harold Wood, Elm Park and Rainham, with villages such as Havering-atte-Bower in the north. On the ONS measure in the table above, rents are among the lowest in London. Council tax is not: Band D is £2,424.66 in 2026/27, against a London average of £2,068 (MHCLG), one of the higher bills in the capital.

Most homes are houses with gardens, and flats are concentrated around Romford and the stations. The Elizabeth line, which serves Romford, Gidea Park and Harold Wood, is what has brought most new commuters here.

The neighbourhoods

Romford

Romford is the borough's main town and one of the biggest shopping centres in east London, with the Liberty, the Mercury and the Brewery shopping centres around a market that has traded since a charter of 1247. It also has the borough's busiest nightlife, which is worth knowing if you are looking at a flat in the town centre. Romford station has the Elizabeth line, Greater Anglia trains to Liverpool Street and the Overground's Liberty line to Upminster. Queen's Hospital, the area's main hospital, is on the edge of town. Much of Havering's purpose-built rental stock is in and around the centre.

Gidea Park

Gidea Park began as Romford Garden Suburb, built from 1910 around an exhibition of houses by leading architects of the day, and much of it is now a conservation area. Raphael Park, with its lake, sits at its centre. Gidea Park station is on the Elizabeth line. The rental stock is mostly family houses, with some flats near the station.

Hornchurch and Elm Park

Hornchurch has a long high street, the Queen's Theatre, and Harrow Lodge Park running through its middle. Hornchurch Country Park, to the south, is on the site of RAF Hornchurch, a Battle of Britain fighter station. Hornchurch, Elm Park and Upminster Bridge stations are on the District line. Elm Park was largely built in the 1930s as a planned suburb, and its streets of semis and terraces are among the more affordable in this part of the borough.

Upminster

Upminster is at the eastern end of the District line and also has c2c trains to Fenchurch Street and the Overground's Liberty line to Romford, which makes it the best-connected station in the south of the borough. Upminster Windmill, a smock mill built in 1803, has been restored and is open to visitors. The town is surrounded by Green Belt, and most homes are inter-war and post-war houses with gardens.

Emerson Park

Emerson Park, between Hornchurch and Romford, is Havering's most expensive area: large detached houses on quiet roads, several of them private and unmade. Emerson Park station, on the Liberty line between Romford and Upminster, is small, so most residents drive or use Romford or Upminster stations.

Harold Wood and Harold Hill

Harold Wood is on the Elizabeth line, which makes its inter-war and post-war houses popular with commuters. Harold Hill, to the north, was built after the Second World War as a large London County Council estate. It has no station of its own, so most journeys start with a bus to Harold Wood or Romford.

Rainham

Rainham, in the south of the borough by the Thames, has c2c trains to Fenchurch Street. Rainham Hall, an early eighteenth-century house run by the National Trust, is in the old village centre. The RSPB's Rainham Marshes reserve lies along the river towards Purfleet. Parts of the area around Beam Park, on the borough's western edge, are being redeveloped with new homes.

Getting around

Havering's links run east to west. The Elizabeth line from Romford, Gidea Park and Harold Wood goes through Stratford and Whitechapel to Liverpool Street, the West End and on to Paddington. The District line from Upminster, Upminster Bridge, Hornchurch and Elm Park runs through Barking and east London to the City and Westminster. c2c trains from Upminster and Rainham reach Fenchurch Street. North-south journeys within the borough are mostly by bus or car, and the A12 and A127 run out towards Essex. Check a specific commute on the TfL Journey Planner before you sign.

Schools

State secondaries include the Coopers' Company and Coborn School and Sacred Heart of Mary Girls' School in Upminster, Campion School (boys, Catholic) in Hornchurch, the Royal Liberty School in Gidea Park, Emerson Park Academy in Hornchurch and the Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls in Romford. Faith schools and schools with their own admissions rules do not admit on distance alone, and popular schools can have small catchments, so read each school's admissions criteria and its latest Ofsted report before choosing a street for a school.

Parks and open space

Havering has more open land than almost any London borough. In the north, Bedfords Park, with its deer enclosure, and Havering Country Park, with its avenue of giant redwoods, sit on the ridge by Havering-atte-Bower. Closer to the towns are Raphael Park, Harrow Lodge Park, Hornchurch Country Park and the fields around Upminster. In the south, the Thames marshes at Rainham are a major site for birds.

Safety

Crime concentrates in Romford town centre, especially at night, and around the busiest stations. Residential areas are generally quieter. For a specific street, the police's crime map at police.uk shows reported crime month by month.

Who it suits

Havering suits people who want a house and garden at a lower rent and work in east London, the City or near the Elizabeth line; families who want open space close to home; and people who drive regularly into Essex. It suits people less well if they work in west London, where journeys are long; want inner London nightlife and restaurants; or are budgeting tightly, given its council tax.

Useful links

Havering Council: havering.gov.uk (council tax, parking, school admissions)
Crime by street: police.uk
Journeys: tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey
Queen's Theatre Hornchurch: queens-theatre.co.uk

The listings above are homes and rooms advertised by their landlords in Havering now. Check which line each one is near: an Elizabeth line station and a District line station lead to different parts of central London.