Beijing named most expensive global city to rent in

The average distance that Londoners commute to work increased from 10.4 kilometres in 2001 to 11.2 kilometres in 2011

Renting is the only option for the many young adults and migrant workers in Beijing (AFP or licensors)

Beijing has been ranked the most expensive city to rent housing in out of a survey of 15 global cities, with rental costs soaring to 1.2 times monthly wages.

The Global Cities Business Alliance looked at 15 cities and discovered that Beijing has become the least affordable place to rent because of soaring house prices, which rose 18 per cent in the year to March.

City restrictions that mean non-residents cannot buy houses in Beijing until they have paid tax in the city for five years, making renting the only option for the many young adults and migrant workers that live there.

Beijing residents are also lower paid on average, making high rent more of a stretch.

Lesley Saville, CEO of the Global Cities Business Alliance, said global cities like Beijing are a victim of their own success.

"Big cities like Beijing are victims of their own success: rapid growth has magnetised workers, but they now need to deliver enough houses so that workers enjoy living there. Beijing is trying to address the problem with measures such as building new underground lines to unlock housing and by directly funding development, which will help," Saville said.

Rental costs have soared to 1.2 times monthly earnings in Beijing

(GCBA (GCBA)

Out of the 15 cities in the study, San Francisco had the most expensive average monthly rents of $2,824 in 2015.

This was closely followed by New York and Abu Dhabi at $2,629 and $2,460 respectively. The cheapest housing was available in Mexico City and São Paulo at $385 and $480 respectively.

The study found that high housing costs may be contributing to longer commutes. Mexico City workers suffer the longest commutes, at 113 minutes per round trip. Beijing and Shanghai have the second and third longest round-trip communting times at 104 minutes and 101 minutes respectively.

The average distance that Londoners commute to work increased from 10.4 kilometres in 2001 to 11.2 kilometres in 2011.

The 15 most expensive cities to rent in

1. Beijing, China

£550 ($789) or 122.9 per cent of income

2. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

£1,714 ($2,460) or 69.5 per cent of income

3. Hong Kong, China

£1,345 ($1,930) or 64 per cent of income

4. New York City, US

£,1832 ($2,629) or 63.1 per cent of income

5. Shanghai, China

£361 ($518) or 58.3 per cent of income

6. Mexico City, Mexico

£268 ($385) or 58 per cent of income

7. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

£893 ($1,281) or 55.4 per cent of income

8. San Francisco, US

£1,968 ($2,824) or 50.5 per cent of income

9. London, UK

£997 ($1,430) or 50.4 per cent of income

10. Paris, France

£613 ($880) or 36.2 per cent of income

11. Chicago, US

£960 ($1,377) or 35.6 per cent of income

12. Singapore, Singapore

£720 ($1,033) or 33 per cent of income

13. Sydney, Australia

£774 ($1,111) or 32.1 per cent of income

14. Sao Paulo, Brazil

£335 ($480) or 30.2 per cent of income

15. Boston, US

£1073 ($1,540) or 30 per cent of income