Pete (white T-shirt), Kurt (the blonde one), and Jordan (on the right) share a three-bedroom house in Earlsfield (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

How do you make a rented property feel like home?

It’s tricky to relax and settle in when you’re paying absurd amounts on a one-year contract.

Throw in the bans on proper decoration and painting the walls, and renting can feel like you’re staying in a hostel for months on end.

Our weekly series, What I Rent, sets out to show the reality of renting in London, looking at what we’re paying and what we’re getting in return.


But it also allows us to look at how people make places they rent feel more homely – blu-tacked artwork, bits and bobs lining the shelves, fancy rugs, and so on.



This week we’re seeing how three men – Jordan, Kurt, and Pete – have made a three-bedroom house in Earlsfield their own.

From left to right: Pete, Kurt, and Jordan (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Hey, Jordan! How much are you paying to live here?

We pay £2020 divided evenly amongst the 3 of us – so £673 each.

Earlier in the year we were paying £1950 and when our agreement expired, the landlord requested an increase to £2050 on the new agreement. However, Pete was able to negotiate this down to £2020.

Bills work out to be £85 each a month – which includes unlimited internet.

And what do you get for what you’re paying?

The house has a kitchen, living room, three bedrooms and amazingly three bathrooms (two are en suite). The non en suite bathroom is Pete’s and is usually used by guests when they are visiting.

I’d say all the rooms are quite even in terms of pros and cons.

Pete’s room has the big courtyard but the least privacy as people walk through his room to dry clothes outside and guests use his bathroom.

Kurt has the only room downstairs, which stays coolest in summer, but cops the most noise if anyone is in the kitchen or living room.

My room lacks a courtyard but doesn’t have the cons of the other rooms (people walking through and noise levels) which I think makes up for it.

They each pay £673 to live in their house in Earlsfield (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

How did you find the house?

Kurt and Pete have been here since August 2017. I moved in replacing their friend who moved back to Australia in March.

I found the guys posting on a Facebook group (Aussies in London) looking for someone to fill the vacant room. The Facebook group has a weekly post with hundreds of comments with people looking for Australian flatmates in London.

I think I found a great deal with the price I pay for an en suite room and the quality of my flatmates!

Do you like the area?

We’re in Earlsfield – South West London. It’s a quiet area between the busier and more well-known areas Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Tooting and Clapham.

I really like our current location – mainly for its accessibility. We’re a short 7 minute walk to the train station which is just one stop to Clapham or Wimbledon and only 3 stops from Waterloo. There’s also a bus right outside our place which takes you straight to Tooting.

Jordan met Kurt and Pete through a Facebook group for Australians living in London (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

I’d say we are very well connected and when I’m working in South Bank it’s only 30 minutes door-to-door.



It’s a 15 minute walk to the gym in Wandsworth and I usually do my shopping at the big shopping complex there after a session. There’s also a

Tesco and Sainsbury next to Earlsfield station if I need to grab something quickly.

Do you feel you have enough space?

Definitely. The rooms are all about the same size and with our own bathrooms I feel there is a generous amount of space for everyone. Pete and Kurt even have their own courtyards.

The living room is big; however, the kitchen feels a bit small when more than one person is cooking at once.

What’s it like living with Kurt and Pete?

Before this year I was renting in Melbourne, Australia in a 2 bedroom with one my good friends. It was a different experience as I was the lead tenant and able to set the house rules.

Moving in with Kurt & Pete was a bit daunting as I’d only met them once when inspecting the room and I was moving into a household with already established rules and expectations.

This really turned out to not be a problem as I found that we are all pretty laidback with similar lifestyles and expectations of how the house should be run. Naturally we became good friends and try to hang out on the weekends and plan trips around Europe together.

They reckon they’ve got a pretty sweet deal (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Are there any major issues with the house you have to put up with?

Nothing worth complaining about. The house has thin walls so can usually hear what everyone else is up to – however, this is rarely a problem as we all have early starts for work so are in bed early.


We don’t have a cleaning schedule for the living room and kitchen so there a few small disputes about keeping these areas clean. Everyone is quite tidy, so this gets resolved quickly.

How have you made the house feel like home?

Coming to the house late I really haven’t contributed much to the house in the living room or kitchen. However, for my room I brought a lot of my stuff from Australia so it kind of feels like my old room.

I like how I’ve hung up the Australian flag that I brought to Tomorrowland festival in Belgium as it reminds me of both home and the great summer I had travelling in Europe.

The guys put up a nice flag of Gandhi for some Saturday night inspiration.

The friends have made the place their own with small bits of decoration (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Any plans to move again?

I’d love to stay here until at least after summer, however, Kurt and Pete are planning to move back to Australia in March next year, so this has created a problem. I will either find new roommates or find a short-term option which would be closer to my current client sites at Heathrow Airport and Uxbridge.

After summer I would like to move in with my girlfriend when she returns to London from a secondment. She is currently renting a one-bedroom apartment in Farringdon.

Have you considered buying?

Definitely not in London. I’m trying to save money at the moment and am not quite sure where I’ll end up settling. Maybe in 5 years I’ll have a better idea.


Shall we have a look at the place?

The living room is pretty big for three (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

The TV’s on the smaller side though (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

The living room leads into the kitchen (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

The kitchen feels a bit cramped when more than one person is cooking (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Interesting cereal choices (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Let’s look at Jordan’s room first (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

It’s not massive, but Jordan’s happy with it (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

Check out the Australian flag (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Jordan has an en suite bathroom (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

All of the housemates have their own bathroom, apart from Pete who uses a third bathroom that doubles as the one for guests (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

So there are new queues for the shower in the morning. Dreamy. (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

Here’s Kurt in his room (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Again, he’s got an en suite bathroom (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

And an impressive collection of hats (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

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

Does anyone else judge people based on the books on their shelves? (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s Kurt’s bathroom. Nice, right? (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Finally, Pete’s bedroom (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

Pete’s room leads out to a courtyard (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

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

And here’s the guest bathroom, which works as Pete’s (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

Behold: Pete’s toothbrushes (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 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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