Radlett and Shenley are the most unaffordable places to be a tenant in Hertfordshire, with residents spending an average of 88 per cent of their income on rent.

The WD7 postcode came eighth in a new countdown of pricey rental locations, behind areas of London, Surrey and Berkshire.

Window furnishing company Thomas Sanderson compared average wages per area and average rent per postcode in 294 UK places to create their rent vs income index.

Housing and homelessness charity Shelter recommends that rent should be no more than 35 per cent of income, but the study revealed that tenants in 23 per cent of UK locations are spending more.

The least affordable location was London’s SW1 A postcode – the area around Buckingham Palace – where tenants are shelling out 188 per cent of their income on rent.

This was followed by parts of Surrey, Berkshire and Greater London – Leatherhead (110 per cent), Ascot (105 per cent), Virginia Water (99 per cent), Cobham (94 per cent), Esher (93 per cent) and Richmond (93 per cent).

Harpenden’s AL5 postcode isn’t far behind with an average spend of 54 per cent, while in St Albans the stats stand at 33 per cent in AL1, 34 per cent in AL4, 35 per cent in AL2 and 39 per cent in AL3.

At the opposite end of the scale is Bromyard in Herefordshire’s HR7 postcode, where just 10 per cent of income is typically required for the average monthly rent.

Richard Petrie, marketing director at Thomas Sanderson, said: “Despite being based on averages, it’s still shocking to learn that there are some areas in the UK where the average cost of rent exceeds the average income by quite some margin, particularly when it is supposed to only account for 35 per cent.

“This tool will hopefully help tenants to make informed decisions about where they might live, and where they can get the best bang for their buck.”