Stephanie pays £650 a month to share a two-bedroom flat in Streatham Hill (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

Renting in London: It’s… not great!

Rents are high (as we all know), space is limited, and if you do manage to find somewhere decent you have to move fast in case someone rents it before you finish your viewing.

Oh, and once you do land a place within budget, you’ll get laughed at by your Northern friends who are paying half as much for twice the space. Cool.

Those outside of London may question why we bother. Sometimes we agree with them.


But maybe by talking openly about what we’re paying and what we’re getting in return, we might make some steps towards sorting out the renting market – or at least educating people about when they’re getting ripped off.



That’s why each week we take you inside a different person’s rented property for What I Rent.

Today we’re with Stephanie Yeboah, a blogger, body confidence advocate, and freelance journalist who shares a two-bedroom flat in Streatham Hill with her landlord.

Stephanie is a blogger, body confidence advocate, and freelance journalist (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

Hi Stephanie! How much are you paying for this place?

I pay £650 a month.

Fortunately, my bills are included within my rent so I don’t have to worry about that.

And what do you get for that money?

We live in a two bedroom flat, with a living room and two bathrooms. My flatmate/landlord has her own en suite bathroom, which leaves the main bathroom for me.

How did you find the flat?

I’ve been here for five months. I found it on Twitter of all places!

I was looking to move out of my previous place, and asked my followers on Twitter if they knew of any rooms going in South London.

An acquaintance of mine who is also an influencer pointed me in the direction of her old flat, which I’m now staying in.

She found the flat through Twitter (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

What’s it like living with your landlord?

My landlord/flatmate is amazing to live with and we get on so well. We’re both into most of the same things so there have been no issues whatsoever.

What do you like about where you live?

The neighbourhood is incredibly quiet, and the public transport is excellent as Streatham has four stations (Streatham, Streatham Vale, Streatham Hill and Streatham Common) which go all over London.

There are a host of independent coffee shops to work in, as well as some awesome restaurants.

We are 10 minutes away from both Brixton and Clapham by bus, and there’s a real sense of family/community spirit here.

Five months in, she’s made the flat feel like home (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

Do you feel like you have enough space?

Definitely. I absolutely love the amount of space in my room (as my previous rooms have always been box rooms) and having a bathroom to myself is amazing.

How have you made the flat feel like home?

Interior accessories! Houseplants, photo frames and little trinkets here and there.

Spot the Diptyque candle (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

Are there any issues with the flat?

The wifi and mobile connection isn’t the best as we live on a hill, but aside from that, it’s wonderful.



Any plans to move again?

Not anytime soon. I absolutely love where I live, and little things such as having your own bathroom really makes a difference!

I don’t think I’d be able to find that anywhere else.

And what about buying a place?

In this economy?! Not just now!

True. Shall we look at Stephanie’s flat?

The living room leads into an open plan kitchen and dining area (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

There’s plenty of space for two (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

Yes, it is Christmas time (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

We’re big fans of a drinks trolley (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

And a touch of neon (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s the kitchen and dining area (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

And then down the hall you’ll find the bedrooms (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

Stephanie’s room makes a welcome change to the box rooms she’s rented before (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

Bits and bobs on the shelves make the room feel more like Stephanie (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

Someone likes candles (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

Stephanie’s landlord has an en-suite, so she gets the main bathroom (Picture: Joe Newman/Metro.co.uk)

What I Rent participants always win points for an electric toothbrush (Picture: Joe Newman/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.

MORE: What I Rent: Lee, £825 per month for a room in a two-bedroom flat in Holloway

MORE: What I Rent: Max, £900 a month for a room in a four-bedroom house in Tooting

MORE: What I Rent: Chris and Liv, £1,520 per month for a two-bedroom flat in Brixton

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