Central Romford
Havering 013 · 5 sub-areas · 10,410 residents
Havering 013 is a residential pocket of the London Borough of Havering, home to around 10,400 people. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,540 a month — noticeably below the wider London average — and the nearest mainline rail station is under 650 metres away, putting central London within roughly 8 minutes by public transport.
Central Romford is a commuter neighbourhood within Havering — train into London runs in around 10 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it. The rental market is active and turnover is high — people move through rather than stay.
Overview
What's it like to live in Central Romford?
3 parks are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; food and drink within walking distance is workable but not dense — around 25 restaurants and 5 pubs in five minutes; Recorded crime is higher than the national norm — common for built-up urban areas, but worth weighing if you're looking for a quieter base; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,566 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Central Romford in Havering
Living in Central Romford
Havering 013 sits in one of London's outermost boroughs, and that shows in the price tag. Rents here are a fraction of what you'd pay in inner London, and over a third of residents own their home — a tenure mix that's rare this close to Zone 1. It feels more like a commuter town that happens to fall inside Greater London than a typical urban neighbourhood, and the data backs that up: the `commuter_town_flag` is set, and roughly a third of working residents are remote workers.
The cost picture is genuinely competitive. A two-bedroom lets for around £1,540 a month — well below the London median — and a one-bed sits at about £1,220. That said, rents rose around 6% over the past year, so the affordability edge is narrowing. Council tax (Band D) runs to around £2,425 a year, and the median home sale price is around £362,000 — placing deposits within reach for many dual-income households, with a years-to-deposit figure of around 4.5 years.
The population skews younger than you might expect for outer east London. Nearly 29% of residents are aged 18 to 34, and just over 21% are under 18 — a notably family-heavy profile. The ethnic diversity index sits at around 52.6, and just under 65% of residents were born in the UK, reflecting the demographic shift that's reshaped much of outer east London over the past two decades.
In practical terms, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 600 metres away — about an 8-minute walk — making the commute to central London unusually quick for the price. Greenspace is close too, with the nearest park under 300 metres from a typical front door. For sub-areas and street-level breakdowns, see the streets and sub-areas listed below.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Havering 013 a nice place to live?
- It depends on your priorities. If you want outer-London affordability with a fast rail link into the city, it delivers — rents are well below the London average and central London is under 10 minutes by public transport. The trade-off is a below-average Ofsted picture for nearby schools and a crime rate that runs higher than the national baseline, though in line with much of Greater London.
- What is the rent in Havering 013?
- A one-bedroom flat runs around £1,220 a month, a two-bedroom about £1,540, and a three-bedroom closer to £1,850. Rents rose roughly 6% over the past year. These are estimates scaled from borough-level official data using local sale prices, so treat them as a guide rather than a guarantee.
- Is Havering 013 safe?
- The recorded crime rate is around 414 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — above the UK national average, but broadly in line with Greater London as a whole. London's recording practices and population density push borough figures higher than rural or small-town comparisons would suggest. As in most areas, crime isn't evenly distributed, so street-level data is worth checking for specific roads.
- What's the commute from Havering 013 to central London?
- Roughly 8 minutes by public transport to the nearest major hub — one of the quickest outer-east-London commutes available at this price point. The nearest mainline rail station is about 600 metres away, or around an 8-minute walk. There's no underground service in the area.
- Who lives in Havering 013?
- A mixed but relatively young population — nearly 29% are 18 to 34, and families with children are well represented. Around 41% of households own their home, which is unusual for this part of London. The ethnic diversity index sits at 52.6, and just under 65% of residents were born in the UK. Many higher earners commute out: resident salaries average around £40,700, well above the £31,900 that local jobs pay.
- What schools are near Havering 013?
- There are 78 schools within 2 kilometres, but only around 28% of those within typical catchment distance are rated Good or Outstanding — significantly below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 2 kilometres away. Families should check current Ofsted reports directly before relying on ratings, as inspections are updated regularly.
- Is Havering 013 good for first-time buyers?
- It's among the more realistic parts of Greater London for buyers. The median sale price is around £362,000, and the years-to-deposit figure sits at about 4.5 years for a typical household — considerably shorter than in inner London. The fast rail link to central London makes it viable for buyers who want city access without inner-city prices.