Caspar lives alone in between Brixton and Clapham (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Finding somewhere to live in London can be tough.

You spot somewhere decent, within your budget, and with an easy commute to work, then show up to the viewing to realise the listing employed some very sneaky camera angles to make the flat look far larger than it is.

To get a more realistic view of London renting than pictures snapped by estate agents or Instagram #interiorgoals, our weekly series What I Rent takes you inside different people’s rented properties, from the lovely flats at genuinely reasonable prices to the grim houseshares with no functioning toilet.

Last week we were in West Norwood with a couple of graphic designers, Ben and Emma.




This time around we’re in Brixton with Caspar, a social media editor renting a one-bedroom flat.

He pays £1,100 a month in rent (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Hey, Caspar! How much do you pay to live here?

My rent is £1,100 per month.

I’m not sure the exact amount for bills, but nothing out of the ordinary. Council tax is around £90, gas and electric is £60, Sky broadband is £25.

The only one that is more than I’d expected is water, they bill me £30 per month. Thames Waters’ own website says a single person in a small flat would pay around £15 per month, but they say they set me at this rate and if I use less at the end of the year they adjust the following year. I don’t even shower at home, I go to the gym six days a week, so I definitely expect this to be much less.

Do you think you have a good deal?

Yes – I really wanted to live on my own, for my own mental health. I’ve never enjoyed living with other people.

My last place was a very small room in someone else’s house, I had a tiny bit of space in the bathroom and a very small shelf in a kitchen cupboard. The landlords used the living room all the time, either themselves or throwing dinner parties constantly so I felt a bit trapped in my room.

When they wanted to raise the rent even more, I realised I could pay a little more to get a whole flat.

Living alone is really important for Caspar’s mental health (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

What area is your home in?

I’m exactly half way between Clapham and Brixton. Technically a Brixton SW2 postcode, but I spend more time in Clapham so I just tell people ‘Clapham’ when they ask.

How many rooms are in your place? How many bathrooms?

A huge bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room/kitchen. The living room is the smallest room, I wish I could switch it with the bedroom but that wouldn’t be practical.

Are you happy where you live?

I really like the flat – the street it’s on is quiet so there’s not much noise from outside (thankfully, as it’s a lower ground floor flat), and the neighbours are all really nice, there’s a WhatsApp group for all the residents which is really friendly.

I’m close to big parks, and the night life of Clapham and Brixton. I have loads of tube stations within 10 minutes’ walk in every direction. There are big supermarkets in walking distance, and a corner shop right next door too.

Caspar is a big fan of plants, especially orchids (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Do you feel like you have enough space?



For just me, definitely. I had a friend stay for a few weeks recently as he was moving house and even with all his junk it didn’t feel too cramped.

How did you find the flat?

I’ve been here about six months, I moved in at the start of the year.

Someone I worked with very briefly about 15 years ago shared the listing on Facebook, she was friends with the landlord. He wanted to rent privately with someone who at least vaguely knew someone he knew.

It was (just) within my budget, in the right area, and was the very first place I looked at, but it felt right as soon as I visited.

What’s it like living alone?

I love it. I’m a bit of an introvert, and find being around other people all the time really stressful. Having to bump into people first thing in the morning after you’ve woken up, or immediately being asked how your day was the second you get in the door really winds me up. Being able to come back here and unwind, not worry about any problems not of my own causing, has been brilliant.

After putting up with houseshares, Caspar realised he wouldn’t need to pay that much more to get his own place (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

How have you made the flat feel like home?

The landlord left a lot of kitchen stuff here, but I’d bought lots of my own for moving (as well as collecting it over the years) so all of his has been packed away in boxes.

I’ve also hidden a lot of his furniture away as I have lots of Ikea bits of my own, so it definitely feels more like my own place.


I have plants everywhere, I’m a big orchid fan so they’re in every window.

One thing I’d like to have done is put up some of my artwork, but there are huge mirrors all around the place. It’s handy, but suspect it was done so tenants wouldn’t be able to hammer things into the walls!

Are there any issues with the flat?

Nothing major. The building had a problem with the drains recently and being on the lower ground floor, I had water coming up from my kitchen floor. The landlord got on it very quickly and was already looking to replace the floor in the flat from it happening a while ago, so I know he’s got things in motion to stop it happening again.

He moved in six months ago and doesn’t plan to move out any time soon (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

I don’t love the bed either. It’s a divan with dodgy drawers under it which aren’t really usable so I feel like I’ve lost storage space there. I offered to buy a new one but the landlord is going to take care of it once the new floors are down later in the year.

The living room being sort of narrow and a weird shape made getting my big TV into a space complicated. Normal TV benches took up too much space, and the wall wouldn’t support a mount, but I found a TV stand that worked and now it feels right.

Do you have plans to move again any time soon?

No, I’d like to stay here for a few years at least.


Have you considered buying a place?

Not even on the horizon. If I met someone and was settled down maybe, but honestly, it’s never been a priority.

Makes sense. Shall we have a look around?

Caspar in his living room (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

It’s a touch narrow, but look at all that shelving! (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

We appreciate a strong collection of pillows (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

And look at that booze collection! (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

An intriguing array (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s the kitchen, with a little dining area (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

It’s a nice kitchen, right? (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Someone has fancy taste in nut butter and salt (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Welcome to the bedroom (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Yes, it’s pretty big (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Caspar’s got some working space as well as room to relax (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

You can tell a lot about someone from their pens (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

We’re going to guess that Caspar likes Star Wars (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

Points for a neatly arranged shower caddy (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Further points for the squeegee (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Plenty of spare loo rolls (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

We wouldn’t leave you without a toothbrush pic (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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