Carolyn and Andy live in a four-bedroom house in Hull with three of their four children (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

When we talk about renting, it’s often focused on young citydwellers in house-shares or couples saving up to buy property.

But a family home can be rented too.

In our weekly series What I Rent, we take you inside people’s rented homes to see what they get for what they pay, as well as how they’ve turned the space into their home.

This week we’re with Carolyn, a 41-year-old mental health nurse, and her husband Andy, a 41-year-old clinical engineer, who live in a four-bedroom house with three of their four children (their eldest daughter has her own place with a partner and her son): six-year-old twin boys and a seven-year-old girl.




Carolyn moved to Hull from Guildford 23 years ago, while Andy, from Gilberdyke, moved to Hull when the couple got together back in 2004.

Six years ago they moved into this house.

The rent is £575 a month (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Hi, Carolyn! How much do you pay to live here?

We pay £575 per month, our money just gets lumped together and the rent and bills come out of one account – on average including travel and food it’s around £1300 per month

And what do you get for what you pay?

We have two bathrooms, four bedrooms, – one of which is now our study – two parlour rooms and a kitchen diner.

Do you think you have a good deal?

Definitely. Our landlords are fabulous and they live close by. They’re easy-going and we have never had any negative issues.

They’re pretty happy for us to make changes if we want to. We realise we are very lucky as in the past we have used letting agents who just charge extortionate amounts for very little.

If the family could buy this house, they would (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Are you happy where you live?

I am now. We live central Hull, about 15-minute walk from the city centre.

We both spent a few years being hard on the area. But there have been major changes such as the council making an effort to remove anti-social stuff. There are more families and working people in this area.

We fell in love with the property when we first walked in and asked to sign the tenancy there and then.

How did you find the house?

We both knew we didn’t want to go through a letting agent so I advertised for a property on Gumtree. Four hours later, our landlord sent us a message saying he had just finished renovating a place and we viewed the house the next day.

We moved here around 6 years ago after the twins were born. We couldn’t afford to move to somewhere with more space in the Avenues area where we were.

But while it’s rented, the family think of this as their forever home (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Do you have enough space?

Absolutely, although we both like collecting and we have said if we were in a position to buy our home, we would make a third floor from the loft



How have you made the house feel like home?

We’ve just started decorating as we have a bit more time now the children are growing.

When we moved in the garden was just mud and decking so that was lovely to be able to take something and make it completely ours.

They’ve lived here for six years (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Are there any problems with the house?

It can be cold! It’s a Victorian house so does get a little draughty but we have open fires and jumpers – and central heating!

Do you have plans to move again?

Definitely no plans to move! We would love to be in a position to buy this place one day. It’s definitely our home now.

Let’s have a look around.

There’s a large back garden for the kids to play in (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

The living room (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Those sofas look comfy (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Carolyn in the kitchen (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

A well-stickered fridge (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

And an excellent selection of fruit (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Art! (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

That’s us told (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

The kitchen leads into a dining area (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

There are plenty of things of interest (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

One of the bedrooms has been turned into Carolyn’s office (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

She works as a mental health nurse (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

So yes, she needs a lot of books (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s the twins’ bedroom, with those lofted beds you always wanted as a kid (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Spot the Eevee (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

So many toys (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

And plenty of books (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Oh hey, robot (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

That’s some impressive building (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s Joy’s room (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

(Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

We wish we had a reading chair like this (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Joy has her own ensuite (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Carolyn and Andy’s (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

We love a gallery wall (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Bedside books (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Nice curtains, nice hat (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

Finally, the bathroom (Picture: Simon Ashton/Metro.co.uk)

And Carolyn’s toothbrush (Picture: Simon Ashton/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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