House/flat renting help and/or advice in London?

[canadian_turtle]

This is a bit of a random one, so I apologise in advance, but if possible I'd really welcome some advice.

I am from the Netherlands and completely unfamiliar with the UK rules, customs, terminology, etc when it comes to renting accommodation. When I originally came here a year ago I stayed for a few weeks with a friend and after that found a single bedroom to let from a private landlord (and I share a bathroom and tiny kitchen with another girl on the same floor). Now I've been really wanting to move to something by myself that at least has a living/sitting room and preferably space for more than a mini fridge in the kitchen (which is just really not doable to share with 2 people). And my deadline is early October as my mum will be visiting for a week and it'd be nice if I can actually offer her a place to stay (which isn't the case at the moment, even if it weren't for the lack of space my landlady doesn't want anyone to stay over :/)

My only other requirement is that it's closer to work as it takes me an hour to get there at the moment (My work is in EC1R 0NE and I live in zone 3 in SE13).

So my questions to you guys:

- Where do I start?

- What is a reasonable expectation I should have?

- Any London areas I should avoid? Or ones I should try to aim for?

- Are there benefits I may be able to apply for?

- What extra costs should I take into consideration? (water, gas, etc is the same back home but I have seen something called "council tax" here too which I didn't know about).

I've tried Googling letting websites and agencies but it's all a bit overwhelming and I fear waaaay out of my budget as my salary is quite low (though I have a permanenent job) so a little bit more background information and any helpful tips for my search are very welcome. Especially if you know of reliable agencies/private landlords to contact as I've seen many ads online that seem very dodgy.

Thanks so much you guys!

[Celini]

what's your budget?

[Beate]

When I first came here I was incredibly naive and incredibly lucky finding the perfect flat by looking on gumtree. I found a fantastic flat advertised by a private landlord. I knew nothing about London but I ended up in the area and street I still live 8 years later here in East London (Docklands). I would advise you first of all to gather as many free property magazines from supermarkets etc. as you can, they give you an idea what flats here cost. The one thing that is incredibly frustrating is that no one tells you how big a flat is in square metres or even square feet. You just get a wooly "good-sized 2 bed flat" description, and believe me, good-sized means tiny. "Spacious" is medium-sized. When they say "huge", that's when it's about normal-sized for a person from another European country. Btw, they only count bedrooms here, so a one bedroom flat is what they would call a two room flat in Germany. A studio is one room that combines bedroom and living room. "Open plan" means the kitchen is integrated into the living room which seems to be very popular over here but I find it incredibly annoying as you have all the cooking smells and washing mashine noise in the living room.

As to where you should or shouldn't live in London, that's not easy to decide. West London is more expensive than East London (don't even think about Chelsea or Kensington). A lot of people say don't live in East London as it's dangerous - that's a generalisation and you have to check out where it is - Docklands on the whole are quite safe but often not affordable. Stay away from the new-builds, they are smaller than older flats and generally not affordable on a normal salary due to all the luxury nonsense like granite worktops etc. The further out you live the cheaper the rents will be but the more you will have to p*y for travel.

You will have to p*y utitily bills for water, gas, electricity, you need a TV licence (currently £145.50/year) and p*y council tax, unless you are a student (then you don't have to p*y) or you live alone, then you are eligible for a 25% reduction. You are responsible yourself for getting all this set up, unless you move into a flatshare where you only rent one room. If you move into a flatshare with one other person (very common in london due to the high rents), make sure you are both on all or some bills, as your name on a utility bill effectively proves that you live somewhere, and you will need utility bills to get a bank account or register with a doctor in your area, as stupid as it sounds.

You can apply for housing benefit and council tax benefit if you are unemployed (as well as job seeker's allowance). It basically means your rent and council tax will be pa*d for you.

When you rent via a letting agent, be aware that they might want references from your employer and/or former landlord and that they might run a credit check on you. You might also incur administration fees for getting a tenancy agreement and that you will have to p*y a deposit and the first month's rent up front. This is really important: make sure that they put your deposit into a tenant deposit scheme for you. It's the law and it's there to deal with a situation when you move out and want your deposit back and the landlord says you can't have it all back for whatever reason. Make sure you get a proper inventory that includes the state of the place when you move in. And basically, don't believe letting agents anything until they put it in writing.

Another thing to take into account is that there are 7 people to every room out there in London, and in September it might be even more due to the student semesters starting, so you might want to look early if you don't want to hurry yourself and sign up for a dump in desperation.

[soonforgotten]

If you're working full-time there's pretty much no way you'd be eligible for any benefits. The closer into London you move, the more expensive it will be. You can check out the gumtree.com for various prices in flat shares and one-bed/studio flats. However, it won't be cheap to live on your own. Don't forget that you'd be fully responsible for the council tax each month on top of the rent and utilities. I know a few years back I had considered a studio in Camden Town but I would have needed a minimum of £1000 per month for even the smallest of properties once bills were factored in. That may have changed but I doubt it has gotten cheaper.

[Rainey]

Rightmove should give you a rough idea of what you can get on your budget, you can search by postcode or town or general area.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent.html

These will most likely all be advertised through estate agents who as Beate says will want credit checks, references etc. So definitely worth looking on gumtree, local newspapers are good, most estate agents carry these and give them out for free if you don't get one through the door and you often find private landlords ads at the back.

[Beate]

The thing about living on your own is that it's not affordable for a lot of people. I live in a 2 bedroom flat which costs over £1000 a month and I have always shared the costs with someone else. You can rent a cheap room in a multi-let for maybe £80/week but if you want a 1 bedroom flat you can easily p*y double that. Everyone advertises weekly rent but expects you to p*y monthly so do determine the monthly cost you will need to time it by 52 then divide by 12. Some tenancies include some utility bills already. You will normally get a 12 month contract that gets renewed annually. Some contracts have break clauses in them which means you could move out earlier. If a 12 month contract does not get renewed properly you are effectively in a rolling contract and can move out on a monthly basis.

[Beate]

View all flats you are interested in carefully. Is the area ok, is it close to transport links (tube, DLR), are there supermarkets near, is it a quiet area?
Check your own requirements - are you particular about a view or a balcony, is it big enough for all your things (really, London flats can be incredibly tiny), do you want to live on the ground floor or higher up (top floor flats often come with a loft, i.e. additional space to put things). Do you need a garage or allocated parking space? If they only have spaces in front of the house and you have a car, you will need to get a costly parking permit. Avoid economy 7 heaters like the plague, they cost a lot of electricity. Flats often come fully furnished but you have to ask which of the stuff belongs to the landlord and which to the previous tenant. You can often negotiate and ask for things to be removed or added (we did that with things we had ourselves, for example we brought our own sofa). That's why inventories are so important. And not being funny, but put it in the contract that you are allowed to hang pictures up!

[canadian_turtle]

Wow, thanks so much for the quick and elaborate replies you guys, I really appreciate it!

I understand that living on my own might not be doable due to the ridiculous high rental prices in London, though I am willing to go for a very small place as long as I can call it my own, you know? I also would't mind sharing with one other person but unfortunately all I've found online so far is either renting (again) a single tiny bedroom in someone elses house (which wouldn't give me space for my mum or any other friends that are visiting from home to stay over!) or sharing a flat with 3 or 4 other people, which I think is a bit much as I'm too old for the student flat setup.

Beate, thank you very much for your long replies. Both coming from another Western European country I think I have the same knowledge/expectations as you had 8 years ago so it's very useful reading your experience. Also a good idea about getting property magazines! I'm so dependant ont he Internet nowadays that I often forget there are other measures to gather information.

what's your budget?

My budget I'm afraid is awfully low. With a monthly income of £1100 after taxes, I was hoping that despite not being on job benefits I might qualify for housing benefits.

[canadian_turtle]

View all flats you are interested in carefully. Is the area ok, is it close to transport links (tube, DLR), are there supermarkets near, is it a quiet area?
Check your own requirements - are you particular about a view or a balcony, is it big enough for all your things (really, London flats can be incredibly tiny), do you want to live on the ground floor or higher up (top floor flats often come with a loft, i.e. additional space to put things). Do you need a garage or allocated parking space? If they only have spaces in front of the house and you have a car, you will need to get a costly parking permit. Avoid economy 7 heaters like the plague, they cost a lot of electricity. Flats often come fully furnished but you have to ask which of the staff belongs to the landlord and which to the previous tenant. You can often negotiate and ask for things to be removed (we did that with things we had ourselves, for example we brought our own sofa). That's why inventories are so important. And not being funny, but put it in the contract that you are allowed to hang pictures up!

I had never heard of an economy 7 heater before just now - this is why I find it extemely hard to get starting on finding my own place here. Not only is rent easily twice as much as back home, I can't ask on my family or friends that already live on their own for advice as everything is just quite different here (and even thoguh I've been here a year I still don't know many people. Certainly none having their own flat).

As for my other requirements (as it may help other people giving advice): I don't own a car and do not care about a garden/balcony. I'm looking for something that isn't just a bedsit (cooking in my bedroom? Er. And it often still means sharing a bathroom with several people) and located in a more residential/quiet street/area but if that's not doable then I'm willing to compromise.

Fully furnished would be convenient considering I don't own any furniture in the UK (I have a few things at my parent's place back home though), though I can always make a trip to Ikea.

[Celini]

I am willing to go for a very small place as long as I can call it my own, you know?...

My budget I'm afraid is awfully low. With a monthly income of £1100 after taxes, I was hoping that despite not being on job benefits I might qualify for housing benefits.

Forget about living alone; I live (alone) in a decent 1 bedroom flat in Islington, rent+council tax+utilities reach £1000... and my flat is a real bargain!

You will definitely have to share I am afraid. There is several website specialised in "Find a flatmates", my cousin and a friend both used them and found some decent people/rooms.
You have to decide how much you want spend on your rent first (I would think roughly £400/month if you want to be able to afford a travelcard and some hot meals)

Keep in mind, rent in central London are very expensive, a little less when you go further away... but then you have to think about travelcard if you are not in central London!
the advantage of being central is that you can maybe walk/bike/take the bus... which is way more affordable than the tube!

If I were you I would not count on benefits, so many people in London earn less £1000/month