Harrow housing statistics 2026
House prices, rents, home types and planning rules in Harrow, with every figure from an official source.
Harrow is an interwar suburb above all. More than half its homes were built between 1919 and 1939, more than a third of households live in a semi-detached house, and the average home cost £532,173 in August 2026, 2.5% less than a year earlier.
Every figure comes from an official source and is dated, so you can see exactly what you are working with before you plan a home renovation in Harrow. The sources are numbered in brackets and listed in full at the end of the page.
When Harrow's homes were built
The Metropolitan Railway reached Harrow from Willesden Green in 1880 and was extended to Pinner in 1885. New stations followed as the fields filled, including North Harrow in 1927, and by 1933 there were 21 stations in the old parish of Harrow [1].
Building was continuous from 1925 to 1939. The councils added estates of their own under the housing acts of 1919 to 1925, including 285 houses at Pinner Hill and 351 at Weald Village, and the borough's population peaked in 1951 at 219,463 [1].
The Valuation Office Agency figures show how dominant that period is. Of Harrow's 97,620 homes, 51.3% were built between 1919 and 1939, against 22.0% across London, and only 2.6% before 1900, against 20.8% for London [2]. All those interwar semis make the roof one of the first places to look for space, with a loft conversion.
How Harrow households live
The 2021 Census found 37.1% of Harrow households living in a semi-detached house, twice London's 18.6%, and 11.3% in a detached house, against 6.1% [3].
Overall 65.3% live in a house, against 46.0% for London, and only 34.5% in a flat [3]. With so many 1930s houses, a kitchen renovation is often about reworking rooms laid out for a different way of living.
Who owns Harrow's homes
58.8% of Harrow households own their home, 30.1% outright and 28.7% with a mortgage, against 45.2% across London [4]. Owning outright is the largest tenure, against 20.7% for London.
Only 10.4% rent from a council or housing association, less than half London's 23.1%, while 29.6% rent privately, close to London's 30.0% [4]. Post-war council estates included 252 houses and flats at Rayners Lane and 271 flats and houses at Woodlands in Harrow Weald [1].
What a Harrow home costs
The average Harrow home cost £532,173 in August 2026, 2.5% less than a year earlier [5]. That is about 4% below the London average of £554,430, where prices fell by 2.2%, and about 1.8 times the England average of £293,525 [6].
Harrow has been just below the London average every August for twenty years. In August 2006 the average home here cost £272,710, against London's £274,815. The biggest jump came between 2021 and 2022, when the average rose from £500,438 to £561,854, the peak of the series, before falling to £521,965 a year later [6].
Semis, flats and the gap between them
A semi-detached house in Harrow averaged £672,566 in August 2026, more than twice the £319,799 of a flat or maisonette. A terraced house averaged £545,066, a gap of £225,267 over a flat [5].
Every type of home fell in price over the year, flats the most at 5.1% [5]. Flats, terraces and semis here cost less than the London averages, while detached houses, at £1,217,606, cost more than London's £1,164,439 [6].
For a family already in a semi, a house extension adds room without paying the £545,040 more that a detached house costs on average.
What it costs to rent in Harrow
The average private rent in Harrow was £1,781 a month in September 2026, up 2.8% on a year earlier and £557 below the London average of £2,338 [5]. A one-bedroom home averaged £1,395 a month and a home with four or more bedrooms £2,795.
With 29.6% of households renting privately, a dated bathroom is often the first thing a bathroom renovation puts right between tenancies.
Council Tax bands in Harrow
Council Tax bands are based on what a home would have sold for on the open market on 1 April 1991 [7]. In Harrow, Band D is the largest, with 31.0% of homes against 25.5% for London, and Bands C and D together hold 54.8% of homes [2].
Only 5.5% of Harrow homes are in Bands A and B, about a third of London's 16.7%, while 23.3% are in Band E, against 15.3% for London [2].
The rules on your street
Harrow has 30 conservation areas, grouped by the council into Harrow on the Hill, Pinner, Harrow Weald, and Stanmore and Edgware [8].
The council says there are extra requirements for planning permission in conservation areas, and demolishing an unlisted building in one needs permission [8]. 16 of the 30 have an Article 4 direction over all or part of the area, including Harrow on the Hill Village, Pinner High Street and Stanmore Hill, and the council says these mean you need planning permission to carry out work there [9] [10] [11] [12]. Digging down is one of the jobs where those rules matter, so a basement conversion starts with a check of the address.
Harrow Council says it has eight weeks to decide a standard application and 13 weeks for large or complex ones [13]. Check whether your street is in a conservation area before anyone starts drawing, then ask up to three vetted builders to quote against the same plans for your home renovation in Harrow.
Harrow housing statistics at a glance
- Average house price, August 2026: £532,173 (London £554,430) [5] [6]
- Change on a year earlier: -2.5% (London -2.2%) [5] [6]
- Average flat or maisonette: £319,799 (London £427,310) [5] [6]
- Average semi-detached house: £672,566 (London £730,580) [5] [6]
- Average private rent, September 2026: £1,781 a month (London £2,338) [5]
- Homes built between 1919 and 1939: 51.3% (London 22.0%) [2]
- Households living in a semi-detached house: 37.1% (London 18.6%) [3]
- Households who own their home: 58.8% (London 45.2%) [4]
- Households in social rented homes: 10.4% (London 23.1%) [4]
- Conservation areas: 30, with Article 4 directions in 16 [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Frequently asked questions
References
- British History Online, Harrow, including Pinner: Suburban development. Victoria County History of Middlesex, volume 4.
- Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties 2026. Table CTSOP4.1, properties by build period and Council Tax band at 31 March 2026.
- ONS, Census 2021 table TS044: Accommodation type. Households by type of home, Harrow and London.
- ONS, Census 2021 table TS054: Tenure. Households by tenure, Harrow and London.
- ONS, Housing prices in Harrow. UK House Price Index for August 2026 and Price Index of Private Rents for September 2026, published 21 October 2026.
- HM Land Registry, UK House Price Index. Average prices for Harrow, London and England, August 2006 to August 2026.
- GOV.UK, How domestic properties are assessed for Council Tax bands. Accessed 29 October 2026.
- Harrow Council, Conservation areas and Article 4. Accessed 6 November 2026.
- Harrow Council, Stanmore and Edgware conservation areas. Accessed 6 November 2026.
- Harrow Council, Harrow on-the-Hill conservation areas. Accessed 6 November 2026.
- Harrow Council, Harrow Weald conservation areas. Accessed 6 November 2026.
- Harrow Council, Pinner conservation areas. Accessed 6 November 2026.
- Harrow Council, Planning permission. Accessed 6 November 2026.
Thinking of improving rather than moving?
Tell us about your Harrow home and what you want to change. We'll give you a free estimate, then up to three vetted builders quote against the same specification.