London rental market starts to get Lehman's fallout

One tenant, an ex-Lehman employee, requested his deposit be used for his final month's rent, as he wasn't sure if he would be paid his salary at the end of September.

Richard Cotton, Divisional Head of Residential Agency at Cluttons comments: "It is too early to assess the true impact of the Lehman collapse on the London property market, but it is not surprising to see city tenants who have lost their jobs already giving notice. I would expect to see more of this over the coming weeks, which is likely to result in a dip in rents in areas which are popular with city workers such as Docklands, Wapping and Belgravia. It is probable that forced sales will also increase in these key areas, as city workers are forced to sell up, whatever the cost."