Romford South
Havering 016 · 5 sub-areas · 10,136 residents
Havering 016 is a residential corner of Havering in outer east London, home to around 10,100 people and well-connected to central London. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,543 a month — noticeably below the London average and only slightly above the UK national median. With over half of households owner-occupied and a rail commute of roughly 11 minutes to a major hub, it draws families and commuters who want suburban stability without city-centre prices.
Romford South is a commuter neighbourhood within Havering — train into London runs in around 11 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it.
Overview
What's it like to live in Romford South?
2 parks and 1 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; food and drink within walking distance is workable but not dense — around 21 restaurants and 2 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.
Romford South in Havering
Living in Romford South
Havering 016 sits in the outer reaches of east London, and that distance from the centre is its defining characteristic. It's quieter and more suburban in feel than inner boroughs — think semi-detached streets, greenspace within reach, and a population that skews towards families and established households rather than young renters cycling between flatshares. Nearly 57% of homes here are owner-occupied, which is well above the London norm, and that tenure mix shapes the neighbourhood's settled character.
On rent, this area sits in an interesting middle ground. A two-bedroom runs about £1,543 a month — above the UK national median of roughly £1,200, but considerably cheaper than inner or central London neighbourhoods. If you're comparing this to somewhere like Hackney or Islington, you're looking at a meaningful monthly saving. The trade-off is that you're further out, and the commute picture matters more as a result.
The people here reflect that suburban, family-oriented character. Just over 23% of residents are under 18 — a notably high share — and the household mix leans towards couples with children, who make up around one in five households. Around 35% of residents hold a degree-level qualification, which is moderate rather than exceptional for London. The ethnic diversity index sits at 47.9, suggesting a mixed but not highly diverse community relative to inner-London norms.
Practically speaking, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 870 metres away — about an 11-minute walk — and public transport gets you to a major employment hub in under 11 minutes. Nearly a third of residents work from home, which reflects wider post-pandemic patterns and makes the outer-London location less of a daily friction than it once was. For streets and sub-areas within the neighbourhood, see the full sub-area list below.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Havering 016 a nice place to live?
- It depends on what you're after. It's a quieter, suburban area with good rail connections to central London and a high share of owner-occupied homes, which gives it a settled, family-friendly feel. The trade-off is that crime rates are above the national average and the share of nearby schools rated Good or Outstanding is well below the national norm — both worth weighing up before committing.
- What is the rent in Havering 016?
- A one-bedroom flat runs around £1,217 a month, a two-bedroom about £1,543, and a three-bedroom roughly £1,845. These are estimates scaled from borough-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose around 6% year-on-year, in line with broader London pressure.
- Is Havering 016 safe?
- The crime rate here is around 128 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, which is noticeably above the UK national average of roughly 80. For a suburban outer-London neighbourhood that's on the higher side. It's not an outlier within east London, but it's worth checking specific streets if safety is a priority for you.
- What's the commute from Havering 016 to central London?
- The nearest mainline rail station is about 870 metres away — an 11-minute walk — and public transport gets you to a major employment hub in roughly 11 minutes. It's one of the stronger selling points of this neighbourhood for people working in or around the City or Canary Wharf.
- Who lives in Havering 016?
- Mostly families and long-term residents. Over 57% of homes are owner-occupied, around one in five households has children, and the under-18 population is unusually high for London at 23%. About a third of residents work from home, and the area has a moderate degree-qualification rate of 34.5%.
- What schools are near Havering 016?
- There are 80 schools within 2 kilometres, but only around 15% of those within typical catchment distance are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding school is just over 1 km away. Parents should verify current Ofsted ratings and catchment boundaries directly before making decisions.
- How affordable is Havering 016 compared to the rest of London?
- It's one of the more affordable parts of the capital. A two-bedroom flat at around £1,543 a month is significantly cheaper than inner-London equivalents. That said, rent still absorbs roughly 65% of median take-home pay locally, so it's not cheap in absolute terms — just relatively good value for London.