Laura shares a two-bedroom flat with a friend from university, Elliot (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

It’s handy to know what other people are paying for their homes in London – if only so we can tell when we’re getting ripped off.

That’s the main reason we show you around a different person’s rented property each week for our series, What I Rent.

The other reason is that we’re nosy and love looking around people’s living spaces. You get it.

This week we’re chatting with Laura, a 26-year-old journalist who lives with software developer Elliot, also 26, in the triangle of Stockwell, Clapham North, and Brixton. We’re referring to the area where they live as Clapham North as that’s the closest station to their flat.


They each pay £725 a month (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Hi Laura! How much are you paying for this place?



We pay £725 each, which includes our council tax and water bills. Our rooms differ in size but we agreed to pay the same and toss a coin.

I ended up with the bigger room but Elliot does avoid road noise and his room is warmer so I think it sort of evens out. I did the coin toss twice before in other house shares and ended up with the box room so I was due some luck.

We pay an extra £50 a month for electricity and gas and £27 for broadband, so £38.50 each a month.

And what do you get for that money?

There’s two bedrooms, an open plan kitchen/living room, one bathroom and a cellar downstairs. We also have a little garden which is great in the summer.

How did you end up living here?

We’ve lived here since September 2016 so just over two years.

I found it on Gumtree but I was living in Belfast at the time so Elliot went and did all the house viewings for us.

It had been empty for months so we didn’t have high hopes as we assumed there would be something wrong with it but Elliot came to check it out and really liked it. It was under our budget because the bills were included. He sent me some pictures and I trusted his judgement.

The flat sits in the triangle of Clapham North, Stockwell, and Brixton (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

It was only the second place we looked at but it seemed like a good option so we applied the next morning. As it was already empty, we could move in when we liked.

It was a private landlord so there were no fees or anything and the deposit was just one month’s rent, when most places were asking for a month and a half so I think we got pretty lucky.

Do you like the area?

We both really like living here. The flat is well located and lots of our friends live nearby so we’re pretty happy with where it is. The flat is on a quiet road but it’s just off a main road.

There’s a lovely pub and fantastic bakery at the end of the street and Clapham high street is a five minute walk so there’s loads of stuff nearby. Brixton is a ten minute walk and it’s about 15 minutes to Clapham Common.



I love that it’s right between three tube stations so there’s lots of ways to get somewhere. When we moved in we both had a 20 minute commute but we have both changed jobs recently and now it’s a bit further, but we like that we can be in central London really quickly.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

The flat isn’t huge, particularly the living area, which is where we spend most of our time. It’s weirdly long and narrow.

We’ve got used to it though and it’s fine for two of us or when we have one or two people over. It’s not great for much more than that but we’ve had dinner parties for six people before.

I like to cook and do wish we had more kitchen space but it’s perfectly useable. When we moved in we asked our landlord if she would put some more cupboards up as there was nothing on the wall above the sink. Fortunately she did because I don’t know where we would store everything otherwise.

The flat was furnished but that basically involved a sofa, a rug and a table and some chairs in the living area and then a bed and a wardrobe in our bedrooms so we’ve added more furniture for more storage.

Laura says the rent was under budget (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Our bedrooms are both a good size though.

It’s the older part of the house so there’s lots of light and high ceilings (though that and the single glazed windows make our bedrooms much colder in the winter) and we have lots of storage space in the cellar. We filled it with big plastic boxes to keep everything clean and dry and it’s also the perfect place for Elliot to store all his wine.


Having the garden means we feel like we have lots more space in the summer. We bought some wooden furniture and love to eat outside or sit outside and read when it’s warm.

What’s it like living with Elliot?

Elliot and I met when we were both at university in St Andrews. He was the web editor of the student newspaper when I applied for a job and he interviewed me. He didn’t give me that job but I ended up getting made news editor a few months later and he was made editor so we worked together a lot and became good friends.

We both knew we would probably end up in London some day and decided we would like to live together if we did. He had another year of uni left and I went to do my Masters in Sheffield.

After that, I ended up going home to Ireland for a year when I got a job there and Elliot moved to London so I thought it might not work.

Eventually though I got offered a job in London and luckily he was still keen to live with me. He’d been renting a studio flat and he wanted to move so it worked out really well.

Living together has been great. We get on really well. People have asked us before how we manage to get on so well and we’re not really sure what the secret is. Elliot is very clean, tidy and polite and I try my best to be. We rarely argue and we have a very similar sense of humour so we have a lot of fun.

They’ve made the flat their own with plenty of sentimental decorations (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

How have you made the flat feel like home?


One of the first things we bought was the picture of St Andrews that hangs above the TV as it’s somewhere that is still very special to us both. We also have lots of photographs everywhere of all our friends too.

We bought a yellow footstool each because we wanted to make the living area a bit more comfortable but I like that they add colour.

We also both like to travel a lot and decided to start collecting cheesy magnets anywhere we go. Most of them are from trips we went on together but we’ve added a few from separate trips this year. We’ve got a decent collection on the fridge now and I like that they bring back memories.

I do the same thing in my room with snow globes – though half my collection is back in Northern Ireland with my parents as snowglobes weren’t deemed to be an essential when I moved.

We’ve recently got into houseplants. Elliot’s bonsai tree is his pride and joy, we have some succulents in the living room (currently being hidden by Elliot’s birthday cards) and we added a few plants to the bathroom to try to brighten it up a bit.

We’ve promised to try to sort the garden out next summer – I wouldn’t say I’m very green fingered and things keep dying on me but I do try.

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

Nothing major. We’ve had a few things such as our front door swelling up in the summer heatwave so badly that we couldn’t get out but our landlord fixes things pretty quickly.

The bathroom is a bit grubby but perfectly useable and there’s the odd quirk like the floors aren’t quite flat so we prop things up with cardboard but we make it work.

Any plans to move again?

We’re pretty happy here at the minute. I’d like to move in with my boyfriend at some point in the future but probably not for another year at least. I think I’d stay in South London though as I really like it here.

And what about buying a place?

I would love to but I know I’ll never have enough to get a deposit together. I do want to be able to paint my walls, put up shelves and own a pet but it seems like a bit of a pipe dream.

Same. Shall we have a look around Laura and Elliot’s place?

The living room is long and narrow, but Laura and Elliot make do (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

There’s plenty of room for two (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

A well-stocked booze section (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

The kitchen and dining area looks on to the living room (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Laura does wish the kitchen were a little bigger (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

The magnets on the fridge are souvenirs of places Laura and Elliot have been (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

There’s a garden! (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

That’s rare in London (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Laura’s bedroom is slightly bigger than Elliot’s, but they pay the same rent (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

There’s space for a desk as well as a double bed (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

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

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

Laura collects snowglobes (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Yes, that is a small horse (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s Elliot’s room. See how it’s ever so slightly smaller? (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

There’s still more than enough space, though (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

See? He’s got a desk, too (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Behold the bathroom, complete with plants (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

The plants don’t get a lot of light, so Laura and Elliot sometimes have to take them out of bathroom (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Yes, they do clean the bathroom, but there’s some grubbiness that just won’t budge (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

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

You didn’t think we’d leave you without a toothbrush shot, did you? (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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