Sam (wearing the striped top) and Ollie (wearing the button-up shirt) share a two-bedroom flat in Hoxton, East London (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Happy New Year!

Let us all hope and dream that 2019 will be the year rents drop and housing is no longer a stressful nightmare.

While we wait for those wishes to come true, let’s keep looking at the state of renting in London, shall we?

In this week’s edition of What I Rent – a weekly series in which we take you inside a different person’s rented property, in case you missed it – we’re hanging out with Sam and Ollie, who share a two-bedroom flat in Hoxton.


How much do they pay for this great honour? What’s great about their flat and what’s… not so great? Let’s find out.

They pay £1,700 a month between them in rent (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Hey Sam, how much rent do you pay?



£1,700 PCM split two ways. I pay a little bit more (£65 a month) for the larger room.

For bills we have to pay £130 each including council tax, water, electricity, gas, and internet.

And whereabouts are you?

Hoxton, East London. Our nearest tube is Old Street which is maybe a 15 minute walk away.

What do you get for what you pay?

Two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchen/dining/living room.

How long have you lived in the flat?

Two months.

Sam and Ollie rent the flat unfurnished, so everything in there has been picked out by them (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

And how did you find it?

Rightmove. We viewed about seven or eight flats before getting this one. It was a pretty bad experience but one I think basically everyone in London has to go through.

Ollie and I knew each other from university but hadn’t seen each other for a couple of years because of different placement years/years working abroad etc.

We’re both sociable people but also really tidy, so it’s a pretty good situation!

How have you made the flat feel like home?

We’ve got the Xmas tree up at the moment which is really nice, but we’ve made sure to have a lot of plants in.

We also rent the flat unfurnished, so actually owning everything in here makes a big difference.

Do you like where you live?

We’re both really happy with the flat.

The kitchen and living area alone make it really good – we both have lots of friends over and having this big space is great for that.

(Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Do you feel like you have enough space?

I think so. The bedrooms aren’t massive, but the big living/dining space makes up for it.

The only problem we have is a lack of storage, so things like the ironing board & drying racks live behind the kitchen door.

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

The walls between us and our neighbours are very, very thin.

We think there’s a bedroom on the other side, because whenever we have friends sleep on our sofa they get to hear the neighbours ’talking’ all night…

Any plans to move again?

Not a conversation we have really had! I think we’ll both assess our options next spring/summer.



And have you considered buying a place?

In the same way I’ve considered winning the Euromillions, I have considered buying a flat in London.

Same, Sam. Shall we have a look at Sam and Ollie’s flat?

The flat has plenty of space for two (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

The living room/dining area/kitchen is one long room (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Spot the Christmas tree (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

We’re fans of the exposed brick (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Nice sofa, too (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Sam & Ollie found the flat on Rightmove after a LOT of searching (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

A proper dining table! We’re a little jealous (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

A decent size kitchen, right? (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

And look at that collection of dressings! (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Back into the hallway we go (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s Ollie in his room (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Points for the plant (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

And the nice shelves (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

And here’s Sam in his room (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

What a nice storage system (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Finally, the bathroom (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

Cute sink, bros (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

A strong stash (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Metro.co.uk)

And look at those organised toothbrushes (Picture: Matthew Chattle/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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