Rebekah rents a two-bedroom house in Ashby, Leicestershire (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

In our weekly series What I Rent, we go inside people’s rented properties to take an honest look at the varied world of renting, from the super-pricey London studio flats and cramped househsares to the dreamy spaces up North.

Today we’re in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, to nose around the two-bedroom home of Rebekah, 43.

Mum-of-three Rebekah is a part-time carer and personal assistant – and a tarot card reader.

She lived in Nottingham, Oxfordshire, and Coventry before moving to North Leicestershire two and half years ago.


She lives alone apart from when her sons come to stay (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Hey, Rebekah! How much do you pay to live here?

Rent is £428 pcm, council tax is band B £178 a month and roughly £80 a month gas & electric. Water is £37 a month.



And what do you get for what you pay?

Two bedrooms and one bathroom plus a downstairs loo.

How did you find this house?

The house is housing association, I wanted to move my children from Coventry as it’s not safe there now and the air pollution is so bad.

When my middle child finished school I moved to an estate about 10 mins drive from my current house. Then we exchanged mutually to this house five months ago as it’s a much quieter, friendlier area with shops nearby and public transport closer.

The home costs £428 a month (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

And who lives here?

My middle child aged 19 is at uni but comes home in holidays. My son aged 22 stays two nights a week when he’s not working, otherwise I’m alone.

How did you make this house feel like home?

The house needed a lot of love when I came here! Everything was broken or missing, but was so easy to put my own stamp on.

I was ill with inflamed lungs on moving day but my wonderful partner decorated and tiled, and slabbed the garden in no time as well as installing a new shower and put new wooden flooring in the hall, kitchen and downstairs loo!

Rebekah is clearly a fan of Betty Boop (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Do you feel like you have enough space?

If both my son and daughter are here (I have another daughter aged 14 who lives with my ex) there aren’t enough bedrooms but we pull out the airbed, or my daughter shares with me.

Are there any problems with the house?

There are no issues and compared to my last house it’s heaven, everyone has their own parking spot and it’s quiet safe street with considerate residents.

Also a five-minute walk to the shops instead of 20 minutes.

She’s made the house her own with plenty of unique bits and bobs (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Do you have plans to move again?

I can’t imagine moving but I’d love to live in west London. I’d only achieve that by swapping with someone in the future.

And what about buying a place?

I don’t earn enough to get a decent mortgage to buy, sadly.

Shall we have a look around?

Here’s the living room (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Anyone keeping count of Betty? (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Oh hey, doll’s house (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

The kitchen (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Some excellent pan storage (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

What a nice fridge (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

That blue paint really brightens up the place (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

A well-stocked cupboard (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Who doesn’t like nosing around in someone’s fridge? (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

The hallway (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

The downstairs toilet (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Upstairs we go (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Welcome to Rebekah’s bedroom (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

She’s got quite the collection of bags (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

And her own TV (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Take a peek at those DVDs (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Fancy (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Look at that wallpaper! (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

We do like a dressing table (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Cosy (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

The second bedroom (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

And finally, the bathroom (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

Check out the zebra print mirror! (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

The all-important toothbrush shot (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

And the toilet (Picture: Alex Hannam Photography/Metro.co.uk)

What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am.

Check back next week to have another nose around a 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 from 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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