This Tube map shows why renting in London has become unaffordable

LONDON -- Rental costs in London are spiralling out of control, with the average price of a flat or a house topping £1,500 ($2,112) a month, according to a HomeLet survey. 

A newly produced Tube Map by the housing charity Shelter has removed the stations in areas no longer affordable to the average renter. The result is staggering: Of the 270 stations on London's underground network, only 15 are in areas where private renting can be considered affordable. 

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Stations in Zone 1 -- including central London, the City, the North, the East and the South -- are totally wiped out of the map, leaving only Zone 2 and the end of the lines as affordable areas. 

Here's how Shelter worked that out:

• Affordable: the average cost of a two-bed private rental property is less than 35% of the combined take home pay of a two-wage household (one person working full-time, one working part-time) on an average salary.
  

• Difficult to afford: the average cost of a two-bed private rental property is between 35% and 50% of the combined take home pay of a two-wage household (one person working full-time, one working part-time) on an average salary.
  

• Unaffordable: the average cost of a two-bed private rental property is more than 50% of the combined take home pay of a two-wage household (one person working full-time, one working part-time) on an average salary.
  

• To determine the "average" Shelter used the median rent and wage.
  

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