Warren and Jenny have lived together for years. They moved to this flat three months ago (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

Renting in London can be many things.

The best days of your young life.

A mess of unwashed plates and a mouse infestation.

A massive drain on your money.


But as naturally nosy people, we want to take a look at what renting in London is like beyond the stories of horror housemates and landlords who don’t give a toss. That’s why each week we take you inside someone’s rented property and have a dig around as part of What I Rent.

This week we’re with Warren and Jenny, two friends who share a two-bedroom flat in Southwark.



We chatted to Warren about what he rents.

They’re just good mates (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi)

How much do you pay for your flat?

£830 per month and approx £150 in bills each.

How long have you lived there? How did you find the place?

Three months. SpareRoom. We hadn’t considered living South of the River but took a shot at it and fell in love when we walked through the door.

We’re so glad we moved from Holloway now as its such a different vibe and community.

Do you like it?

We absolutely love it. Our landlord Hannah is amazing and really takes care of us and the flat. The location’s so good – four minutes walk from London Bridge or Borough.

They’ve managed to make the flat their own (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

Do you feel like you have enough space?

Yes, plenty and so much storage as it’s ex local authority – nice big rooms too, no box room.

How did you and Jenny end up being housemates?

We’ve know each other for several years and then I moved in with Jen a few years ago in Holloway.

We decided to leave a shared house and be all grown up and get a two bed flat. It was hard hitting to the bank account but we love it still, and love chilling when we get chance for catch-ups, gossip and wine.

Are there any problems with the house?

No, none so far but winter is coming so maybe we’ll find out the natural temperature of the flat, we’ll just crank up the heating more.

There are too many pubs to choose from.

And clearly enjoy slogan items (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

How have you made the flat feel like home?

We’ve bought a lot of our furniture and pictures. We both love our vintage record player cabinet, our charity shop pictures and fairy lights on the balcony. Other than that it had great stuff already it was a just a few finishing touches such as lampshades.

Any plans to move again?

Not any time soon. We love it and feel we’ve been really lucky with the flat and the landlord.

And what about buying a place?

Yes, but apparently they need real cash for that, not just Monopoly money.

Sad. Shall we look at the flat, then?

The living room and dining area (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

There’s plenty of storage space (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

The dining area, where the friends can drink and gossip (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

There’s one separate toilet, plus another bathroom (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

And two bedrooms (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

This is Warren’s room (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

The rooms are both pretty evenly sized, so the pair pay the same (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

We’re starting to suspect that Warren likes plants (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

An entirely normal pillow fight between two friends in Jenny’s room (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

Cute (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

See? Storage space (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s the kitchen (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

Don’t worry – there is another fridge in the kitchen that has food in (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

There’s a balcony too (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

The bathroom, complete with a bath (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

Oh hey, cute toothbrush storage (Picture: Sofia Bouzidi/Metro.co.uk)

What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am. Check back next week to have a nose around another rented property in London.

How to get involved in What I Rent What I Rent is Metro.co.uk's weekly series that takes you inside the places people are renting, to give us all a better sense of what's normal and how much we should be paying. If you fancy taking part, please email whatirent@metro.co.uk. You'll need to have pictures taken of your kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom, plus a few photos of you in your room. Make sure you get permission for your housemates! You'll also need to be okay with sharing how much you're paying for rent, as that's pretty important.

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