# Renting a flat in London



## missy2442 (Apr 5, 2012)

Hello! 

I was wondering if anyone out there can give me some insight on what to expect when renting in London- would like to know things like, what the deposits are like (full month, two month) what can be easily negotiated, etc etc

Thanks so much!!


----------



## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

missy2442 said:


> Hello!
> 
> I was wondering if anyone out there can give me some insight on what to expect when renting in London- would like to know things like, what the deposits are like (full month, two month) what can be easily negotiated, etc etc
> 
> Thanks so much!!



As you will be coming to the UK with no credit history, it's likely that you will be asked to pay 6 months rent in advance on top of a deposit of probably 6 weeks. The rental market in London is healthy and depending on where you are looking things get snapped up pretty quickly so you have to be able to act fast. It is still always worth negotiating a little lower than the asking price.

I see you have another thread about a cat. You will probably have some difficulty finding a pet friendly landlord so be prepared to pay an extra deposit.


----------



## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

You might like to take a look at this site.

Gives tips on what to look out for when renting private accommodations, and general rental prices in London areas.

London Rents


----------



## nzfiona (Apr 22, 2012)

London is very expensive, but lots of fun.
The banks here are a bit of a pain, they take forever to get anything done and it seems to be really tough to open a local account.
There are lots of cool places to live, try and get somewhere near a tube station.
Going thru and agency is a good idea as there are a few shady people out here. and an agency will be able to help you with finding somewhere that will take the cat.
if you are able to get work to sponsor your accomodation you may find it easier to get.
The agency will want a finders fee, a rental bond (this can be months worth of rent) and, a month of rent in advance. 
Be careful of council tax. this is usually in addition to your rent and can add hundreds of £ to your monthly outgoings.
other additional costs will be power, water, gas, tv lisence, phone and internet.
good luck
Fiona


----------



## Retro Specs (Jan 20, 2012)

Generally the places to search are right move which is a listings site and gum tree whic is uk equivalent of Craigslist. If you want to avoid paying six months in advance go with an independent landlord rather than letting agent. You 're more likely to find them on gum tree, but visit the property before agreeing anything!

London rental market is fast, properties often go within a few days, usually little room at all to negotiate price. 

Factor in travel card costs into rental price. Something in zone 5 might seem cheap but when you add additional tube travel costs isn't. 

Cheap areas with good transport centrally but still a little dodgy are Brixton and Whitechapel. Check the London crime street by street stats if worried but compared with the USA's big cities London is safe.

Good area guide sites include stuckinlondon and more compressive but a decade old livinginlondon dot netThere's a few more you can find by searching google for moving to London or living in London. Expect to be paying £1250 a month for a basic 1 bed flat in a zone 2 OKish area, maybe less than £1000 in a less OK area or further from tube or Zone 3 and beyond.


----------

