Zac Goldsmith - the Conservative candidate for the next London Mayor - claims the capital's rising rent problems, high letting fees, "rogue landlords and lack of housing" will be remedied if he wins the election.

Figures released by Goldsmith’s opponent, Sadiq Khan, show that the average monthly rent in Bexley is £950.

According to the data, since the last mayoral election in 2012, average letting fees have shot up in London by 48 per cent.

Your Local Guardian:
A snapshot of the housing crisis: 50,000 homes need to be built, says Goldsmith

This problem has been compounded by letting agents asking for a deposit equivalent to six weeks of rent, or at least one month’s rent in advance.

The Richmond Park MP said: “You’re not going to get to a point where deposits aren’t needed.

“But the agency fees are still very high - on average across London I think it’s around £330 and I don’t think people get £330-worth from their agents - it’s almost like a scam.”

“There are a lot of new businesses emerging where apps are being developed which I think very soon will effectively render the agents redundant.

Mr Goldsmith added: “We’ve got 2m renters in greater London as a whole, a lot of them get a bad deal, insecure tenancies, and paying too much and the conditions aren’t ideal and there’s a lot of rogue landlords as well.

“I think the Housing Bill going through parliament takes us a big step forward [when] dealing with rogue landlords.”

Your Local Guardian:
Goldsmith believes more building construction is needed in London

A huge issue that the next London mayor faces is the lack of available housing in the captial.

In order to combat this problem, as Mayor, Mr Goldsmith has pledged to build 50,000 homes - double the amount being built in London at the moment.

Mr Goldsmith said: “I think it’s a mistake not to have any target in terms of the numbers of homes that we build, seriously.

“It’s a big challenge but we can do it.”

On the key issue of affordable housing, the mayoral candidate believes we need “maximum affordability”. He said: “There’s no point building vast numbers of homes if those homes are then bought by overseas investors.

Your Local Guardian:
Richmond Park MP, Zac Goldsmith

“It means you get the maximum affordability out of every single development but I don’t believe targets are helpful for two reasons.

“One, they polarise the debate between social housing and market housing.

“And the second reason is that targets have never been met.”

The London mayoral vote will be taking place on May 5.

To know more about Goldsmith's mayoral campaign click here.