Married couple Sophie and Samy share a one-bedroom flat in Hackney (Picture: Susannah Ireland)

Each week we take you inside a different person’s rented property for our series, What I Rent.

Yes, this is in part because we are deeply nosy beings and enjoy looking around people’s living areas.

But it’s also because we want greater clarity on the state of renting.

We know that the rental market is not great, especially in London. But in the midst of being lectured for choosing to live in London and being told we’re throwing our money away, it’s tricky to understand what’s actually normal.


How can you know if you’re actually getting a good deal when you’re only comparing your rent to people living up North or your parents’ first flat from 20 years ago?



This week we’re spending time with Sophie and Samy, a married couple sharing a flat in Hackney.

They pay £1,516 a month (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Hi Sophie and Samy! How much rent do you pay?

We pay £1,516 a month, plus around £200 in bills (water, electricity, internet, and council tax).

The flat is amazing value. We were so happy to find it as we visited flats for a few months before and just when we started to get really desperate we found this one, which has been the best in everything: size, location, look.

How many rooms are in your place?

We have one bedroom, a living room and kitchen area, and a bathroom.

How did you find the flat?

We moved here in October last year.

We found it on OpenRent. It was advertised by the previous tenants. We loved the place at first sight and the tenants recommended us to the landlord. We were very lucky!

The couple searched for a while, and this place was the best flat they saw (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Are you happy where you live?

We love it! The location is ultra convenient to go everywhere in London. There are buses just by our doorstep and we can walk to cool spots like Broadway Market, London Fields, Victoria Park or Columbia Road.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

Oh, yes. We especially enjoy our living room which is great to have family and friends over, around the big table for dinner or on the couch to watch a movie with our projector. Samy even launched a movie club!

How have you made the place feel like home?

The flat was empty when we moved in. We only had a new mattress provided by the landlord.

Apart from a few pieces from Ikea, we tried to gather as much second-hand furniture on Gumtree or Facebook.

It was love at first sight (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Sophie made the dining table from an old wooden table she got on Facebook for £40 and asked a lovely neighbour who runs a workshop to fix on it a set of hairpin legs she got on Amazon.

Here and there you can come across pieces of sentimental value: pictures of us and family, photos Sophie took while we were traveling, this big school map of Morocco where she was born, that French sign we found on the street in the middle of the night in Paris.



The plants and flowers are also key to enjoying the space!

Are there any issues with the flat?

We just hope that the contract will be renewed by our landlord.

Any plans to move again?

No, we would love to settle here for the moment. We’ve been moving a lot lately between France, Holland and then in London we had many flatshares. This is really a nest to us.

Have you considered buying a place?

Yes, but not for now.

Shall we have a look around?

There’s a main living/dining/kitchen area (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

With plenty of space for guests (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Plants, signs, and furniture found on Gumtree make the flat feel like home (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Plants are very important (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

The dining and kitchen area (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

What a fancy pan stand (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

There’s a mini balcony, too (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Down the hallway we go… (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

We’re fans of the bunny (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

And finally, the bathroom (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

We can tell someone likes their skincare (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Officially the fanciest soap dish we’ve found thus far (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

Note the tongue scraper (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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