Flats to Rent in Hillingdon

Renting in Hillingdon

Hillingdon is London's westernmost borough and, after Bromley, its second largest. It runs from Harefield on the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire borders in the north, through Northwood, Ruislip and Uxbridge, down to Hayes, West Drayton and Heathrow Airport, which lies inside the borough. On the ONS measure in the table above, rents are below the London average. Council tax is too: Band D is £2,045.46 in 2026/27, against a London average of £2,068 (MHCLG).

The borough is really two places. The north is Metroland: 1930s semis, the Metropolitan line and a lot of woodland. The south is shaped by the airport, the Elizabeth line and aircraft noise. Which half suits you depends mostly on where you work and how you feel about planes.

The neighbourhoods

Northwood and Northwood Hills

Northwood is the most expensive corner of the borough: large inter-war and Edwardian houses, a small high street on Green Lane, and the Metropolitan line at Northwood and Northwood Hills stations. It sits furthest from Heathrow, so aircraft noise is rarely an issue. Independent schools are a big part of its appeal, including St Helen's School and Northwood College for Girls, with Merchant Taylors' School just over the Hertfordshire boundary. Most of the rental stock is family houses and flats in small blocks near the stations.

Ruislip, Ruislip Manor and Eastcote

Ruislip is a settled suburb built largely in the 1930s, with a long high street and the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines at Ruislip, Ruislip Manor and Eastcote. Its biggest asset is Ruislip Woods, a National Nature Reserve, and Ruislip Lido, a former reservoir with a sandy beach and a miniature railway. Manor Farm, near the old village centre, keeps its historic barns and hosts local events. South Ruislip and Ruislip Gardens are on the Central line instead, and West Ruislip has both the Central line and Chiltern Railways trains to Marylebone.

Uxbridge

Uxbridge is the borough's main town: the Chimes and Pavilions shopping centres, the civic centre, and Brunel University London's campus, which keeps demand for rooms and small flats high during term time. It is the western end of both the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines. Note that Uxbridge's Piccadilly line trains do not go to Heathrow, which is on a different branch; to reach the airport by public transport you change or take a bus. The Battle of Britain Bunker, the underground operations room at the former RAF Uxbridge, is a museum on the edge of town.

Hayes and West Drayton

Hayes and West Drayton are the borough's Elizabeth line towns, with direct trains through Paddington and the West End to the City and Canary Wharf, which is why demand from commuters has grown since the line opened in 2022. Hayes grew around industry: EMI pressed records here, and the former factory site is now the Old Vinyl Factory development of flats, offices and venues. Much of the newer rental stock is purpose-built flats near Hayes and Harlington station; older streets have terraces and inter-war semis. Both towns are close to Heathrow and Stockley Park, the business park between them, so many residents work locally.

Ickenham, Harefield and the villages

Ickenham keeps a village centre around its pump and the Church of St Giles, with the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines at Ickenham station. Harefield, further north, has no station at all and is surrounded by Green Belt and the lakes of the Colne Valley; Harefield Hospital is its best-known employer. Near West Drayton, Harmondsworth has the fifteenth-century Great Barn, now looked after by English Heritage. These areas suit people who drive: buses are the only public transport to much of them.

Heathrow and aircraft noise

Heathrow brings jobs and it brings noise. How much noise you hear depends on where the home is, which runway is in use and the wind direction, so a quiet viewing on one day proves little. Before signing, look up the address on Heathrow's WebTrak flight-tracking tool, which shows the flights that passed over it recently, and visit at the times you would be at home. The government supports a third runway: a draft national policy statement for it went out to consultation in summer 2026, and planning consent has still to be sought. Its route, timetable and flight paths are not settled, so check the latest position if you plan a long stay in the south of the borough.

Getting around

Hillingdon has more rail lines than most outer boroughs, but they run in different directions. The Metropolitan line serves the north and Uxbridge, towards Baker Street and the City. The Piccadilly line shares the Uxbridge branch as far as Rayners Lane, then runs through west London to the West End. The Central line serves the Ruislip stations. The Elizabeth line serves Hayes and Harlington, West Drayton and the Heathrow stations. Crossing the borough north to south is usually by bus or car: Uxbridge to Hayes is a bus journey. Check a specific commute on the TfL Journey Planner before you sign.

Schools

Hillingdon has no state grammar schools. State secondaries include Bishop Ramsey Church of England School in Ruislip, Vyners School and Douay Martyrs Catholic School in Ickenham, Haydon School in Eastcote, Northwood School and Rosedale College in Hayes. Faith, selective and independent schools set their own admissions rules, and popular state schools can have small distance catchments, so read each school's admissions criteria and its latest Ofsted report before choosing a street for a school.

Parks and open space

Few London boroughs have as much open land. Beyond Ruislip Woods and the Lido there are Bayhurst Wood Country Park near Harefield, the Colne Valley Regional Park along the western edge, and the Grand Union Canal, whose towpath runs through Uxbridge, Cowley and Yiewsley. Lake Farm Country Park in Hayes gives the south of the borough some open space of its own.

Safety

Crime concentrates where people gather: Uxbridge town centre at night, the busiest parts of Hayes, and around transport hubs. Residential streets in the north of the borough are generally quiet. For any specific street, the police's crime map at police.uk shows reported crime month by month.

Who it suits

Hillingdon suits people who work at or around Heathrow; Elizabeth line commuters who want Hayes or West Drayton prices; families who want a house and garden near woodland in Ruislip, Eastcote or Northwood; and Brunel students in Uxbridge. It suits people less well if they need to be in central London often from the north of the borough, where journeys are long, or if they work from home and are sensitive to noise in the south.

Useful links

Hillingdon Council: hillingdon.gov.uk (council tax, parking, school admissions)
Flight paths over an address: Heathrow WebTrak, via heathrow.com
Crime by street: police.uk
Journeys: tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey

The listings above are homes and rooms advertised by their landlords in Hillingdon now. Check which station and which side of the borough each one is on: Northwood and Hayes are both in Hillingdon, but they are very different places to live.