Carys and Jamie moved in together after eight months of dating (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

In a time when it feels like every Londoner is moving to Brighton (seriously, can you all stop?), we reckon it’s time for What I Rent to take a trip towards the seaside.

In our weekly series exploring the reality of renting in the UK, we take you inside a different person’s rented property.

This time we’re in Hove with Jamie, who runs his own business as a tiler, and Carys, who works as a sales and project manager for a charity team building events company.

The couple have lived together for six months in a one-bedroom flat in Hove, having moved in eight months after they met on Bumble.


They rent a one-bedroom basement flat in Hove for £975 a month (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

Hey, Carys! How much do you and Jamie pay to live here?



We pay £975 a month and split it 50/50, so £487.50 each. We probably pay around £300 in bills including WiFi, council tax, water and electric, and again split this 50/50.

And what do you get for what you pay?

It’s a one-bedroom flat but the room sizes are huge in comparison to other Hove properties. We have a lounge, kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom.

Do you think you have a good deal?

Yes! That’s pretty cheap considering the size of our flat. We’re blessed with bright airy rooms and high ceilings.

I was searching for a flat like an absolute madwoman and we viewed a few places before this but nothing quite ticked every box. We were the first people to view this flat and fell in love with it straight away. The next morning the holding deposit was paid and it was ours.

They’ve made the flat feel like home with plenty of plants and artwork (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

How did you find the flat?

Sitting on Rightmove every second of every day pressing refresh until something decent came up! Properties go very quickly in this area so you have to be on it. We moved in in May 2019.

Are you happy where you live?

Incredibly! We love everything, I don’t actually think there is anything we’d change.

Our flat is in Hove, just a few minutes walk from the main high street and a minute’s walk from the sea.

We love the location as there is so much to do on our doorstep, we’re spoilt for choice with restaurants and bars and there’s plenty of great charity shops for a few bargains. It’s also only 20 mins on the bus into the centre of Brighton.

We get so many compliments about what a great location we are in and we have no real plans to move in the near future. Hove has a great buzz to it and is a little more chilled than the hustle and bustle of Brighton.

Jamie has lived in Hove for a while but Carys only recently moved to the area (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

Do you feel like you have enough space?

Yes and no. I would love a two-bedroom flat with a garden but the budget just doesn’t allow it.

The only thing this flat lacks is storage so we’ve had to be a bit more creative with storing items.

What’s it like living together?

We love it. As we’d only been together about five to six months when we first spoke about moving in together people were a bit judgemental, but we both just knew it would be the right decision.



We both rented studio flats and were paying silly money so the logical thing was to move in together. I was always a bit more keen on the idea but Jamie wasn’t as sure… then one day he turned round to me and said ‘let’s start looking’, and here we are!

You’re going to spy a lot of plants (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

How have you made the flat feel like home?

I love styling the inside of our home. I share photos a lot on Instagram about where I got things from and Pinterest has been a great influence on my style. I’ve always had a bit of a creative flair so I really enjoy turning a blank canvas into a cosy home.

I think fairy lights make anything instantly feel more homely. We’ve collected a lot of second hand furniture from Facebook marketplace, then trinkets from charity shops and added lots of plants (Jamie keeps telling me we don’t need anymore and then I accidentally buy three more) to each room to make it feel more homely and reflect our styles.

You can put your own stamp and style into a rented property without actually having to redecorate.

Are there any problems with the flat?

We had a few issues when we first moved in – none of the remedial works had been done but they quickly sorted that out. I think we were pretty lucky apart from that.

These buildings are quite old so it’s a little chilly in the winter and the water tank can run out quickly but that’s nothing, really.

The couple would love a two-bedroom flat with a garden but that doesn’t work with their budget (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

Do you have plans to move again?


We really do love this flat and I think it would take something really special to make us move. We planned to stay in our first property together for at least two years and I think that’ll be the case. The first six months has gone so quickly that two years will fly by!

We’ve both moved a lot over the last three or four years so it would be nice to stay put for a while and make a real home out of this place.

Have you considered buying a place?

Hundreds of times. Does anyone else fall into a Rightmove hole where you just end up looking at houses you can’t afford but plan exactly what you would do to them? Because, same.

We wouldn’t be in a position to buy for quite a few years and our priorities reside elsewhere at the moment but we do talk about the future and what we would want.

We both dream of buying a renovation project – a property with some real character that we could transform together and make into a forever home. But for now we want to travel a little more of the world and experience new things before all the ‘adult’ stuff begins. We’re only 29 – still young.

True. Let’s have a look around.

The living room (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

They’re fans of fairy lights (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

There’s space for a dining table (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

We love a gallery wall (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

The kitchen (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

It’s very neat and tidy, isn’t it? (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

Fair play (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

Points for the matching bed cushion and chair (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

Nice bedsheets, too (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

The bathroom, complete with even more plants (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

A mirror over the toilet is an interesting choice (Picture: Andrew Hasson/Metro.co.uk)

True love means matching toothbrushes (Picture: Andrew Hasson/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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