Kara pays £590 a month for a room in Balham. (Picture: Alexander Crawley 2018)

Trying to find a decent place to rent in London is stressful.

You’ll trawl through endless listings advertising tiny studio rooms for much more than you can reasonably afford, photos that clearly haven’t been updated in quite some time, or your dream place… that’s gone before you can even book a viewing.

A big part of the stress comes from the ~mystery~ of it all.

Should we really be spending a third of our salary on rent? Or is that an outdated rule entirely irrelevant to living in London?


How much space should we expect when we’re paying £650 a month?



Are we getting a fair deal? Is this all normal?

To make things a bit clearer, What I Rent is our series that takes you inside a different person’s rented property each week, showing off all the nitty-gritty details (even the location of their toothbrush).

This week we’re at Kara’s flat in Balham.

She pays £100 less than her housemates, as her room is smaller. (Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

How much are you paying to live where you live?

I pay £590 a month for the box room; the two bigger rooms are £100 more. Bills are around £60 a month for everything.

What do you think of the area?

I live in Balham. I love the place, as it is really well connected to both overground and underground being less than ten minutes from Clapham South and Balham. I even have a night bus stop outside my window meaning I get home easily after a night out.

My commute is less than 30 minutes which is a change from when I previously lived in Streatham and every other train was cancelled; I could never go back to an overground now.

I love being in between Wandsworth Common, Tooting Common and Clapham Common which makes up for not having a garden or balcony.

I also have about seven supermarkets within walking distance, and loads of brunch spots where I end up on hungover Sundays, and I love Hagen & Hyde pub.

Sometimes I’d like to try living in North London but all my mates are here so what would be the point?

How did you find this place?

I found it through a friend, whose university mate was moving out at the time.

Kara found her housemates on SpareRoom. (Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

Did you know the people you live with?

No, they were from SpareRoom.

One guy has been here a year longer than me and is still here, who is lovely, and the other guy has been here a year who is also sweet.

We all work different hours so don’t often hang out outside of the flat but will happily chat in the kitchen or our rooms if we’re all in. I’ve had horror housemates so thankfully they’re super easy to live with; essentially clean and not noisy all the time!

How long have you lived there?

Just over two years.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

My room is tiny I’ll admit, but I don’t like having a lot of junk anyway.



If I didn’t have the massive living room area where I keep most of my things I would definitely struggle. As with most rental properties, there aren’t really any cupboards or shelving space which makes it tricky but it seems to work.

I also didn’t realise for a long time that I had a queen size bed so cannot wait to go back to a double.

But seeing as I have the flat to myself a lot, it is a great space to pad around it, despite being a relatively small flat. Could do with another bathroom though; having a two-hour bath feels selfish when it’s the only room with a toilet in it.

There’s limited storage space, as is standard in loads of rental properties. (Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

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

Luckily it’s been a breeze for the recent years; our washing machine broke and our landlord was round the next day.

Things like a broken window seal in my room can be a pain, as well as being freezing in the winter and having a few mushrooms in the bathroom but I have never had anything major happen that made me want to move.

Are you planning to move again?

I’m actually moving next month; it is more expensive and slightly further from work (while being in a similar area south of the river) but it is a huge house with some close friends so will be worth it.

I work tricky hours so hoping the new place means I can be a bit more social. It also has a hot tub so isn’t all bad.


Have you considered buying a place?

I wish!

I’d love to buy in the next five years but that will only happen if I meet someone by then or my parents help me out; not just for the deposit but being able to afford the monthly mortgage repayments is a large concern.

Now all the info’s out of the way, let’s have a nose around Kara’s place:

Thankfully there’s space on the walls to make the place more homely. (Picture: Alexander Crawley)

The bed takes up most of the space. (Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

The living room serves as extra storage. (Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

The shared kitchen. (Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

There’s only one bathroom, but there is a tub. (Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alexander Crawley/Metro.co.uk)

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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