Lauren and Sam share a one-bedroom flat in West Hampstead, London (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

In our weekly series What I Rent, we take you inside every corner of people’s rented properties to see what they get for what they pay.

Yes, this is partly to satisfy our own nosiness, but moreso to get a more accurate picture of what renting is really like, in London and beyond.

This week we’re hanging out with couple Lauren, 28, and Sam, 28.

Lauren is originally from Leicester and Sam is from Doncaster, but both moved to London to work in insight and research for media brands. They’ve lived in West Hampstead for two years now, having moved into their current flat in May 2019.


Rent is £1,650 a month between them, so £825 each (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Hey, Lauren! How much do you and Sam pay to live here?



Rent is £1,650 a month, so £825 each. Bills are £270 a month, with £180 on council tax.

And what do you get for what you pay?

One bedroom, one bathroom. Open plan living room, dining area and kitchen. It’s actually pretty small.

Do you think you have a good deal?

Yeah. The landlord was trying to sell the flat before we moved in but hadn’t found a buyer yet. So the price was more reasonable than other flats in the building. I think we’d struggle to find a flat like this for the same money.

The couple moved in in May (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Are you happy where you live?

We live in West Hampstead but it’s actually closer to Kilburn tube. So we get the best of both areas!

We love it here. Great transport into Central London (overground, Thameslink, Jubilee line) and easy to get out of London for the weekend.

Kilburn is good for food, and West Hampstead has great charity shops, a lovely bookshop and bars. The closeness to the heath is great for both running and walks with visitors. It’s also really convenient to travel back home as you can be on the M1 in about 15 minutes.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

It’s great, perfect for the two of us. When we’re entertaining we have a handy trestle table that just about fits in the dining area.

That said, we still have managed to fill it to the brim, so the next flat will absolutely have to be bigger.

Unfortunately they’re having to move out in February 2020 as the landlord has sold the flat (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

How did you find this place?

On Zoopla, after an extensive search of North London. We moved in in May.

What’s it like living together?

It’s much much easier living together than separately, if not just for the admin, travelling.

We obviously see each other a lot more now, and we’re both very similar in terms of how clean and organised we like to keep things. It’s easy to divide up any chores because we seem to hate doing what the other likes.

How have you made the flat feel like home?

Books, colours, a lot of pink and blue to brighten up all the IKEA furniture, a few photos around, instruments!

They’ll be looking for a flat in Cricklewood next (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Are there any problems with the flat?



Various different things are broken and it’s taking some time to fix them, e.g. tile grouting, ventilation system, taps; but otherwise there’s not much to complain about.

Are you planning to move again?

We need to move out in February, unfortunately, as the landlord has now sold the property. We negotiated a rental reduction to make it worth exiting the flat early, but we were originally on an 18-month contract so it’s still quite frustrating to be moving again so soon.

We know the area a bit better now so may head into Cricklewood for something a bit cheaper with the same space or bigger for the same money.

And what about buying a place?

We have started down the road of deposit saving, but it could take a long time if we keep taking holidays.

There’s a small balcony to sit and relax (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

The living room and dining area (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

You’ll spy a lot of instruments (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

The couple have added splashes of blue and pink to brighten up the flat (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s the kitchen (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

An impressive collection of cookbooks and syrups (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

And some very aesthetically pleasing mugs (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Wine *and* organised chopping boards? Very grownup (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

The kitchen, living room, and dining area are one big open plan bit, so down the hall we go (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

And here’s the bedroom (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

They’ve gone for a blue and pink colour scheme (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Nice bedsheets (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Nicer whisky (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

We like that little reading seat (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Finally, the bathroom (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Making the most of storage space (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Please enjoy nosing around the toiletries (Picture: Susannah Ireland/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.

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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