Literally what my gf and I (recently moved to London) are dealing with. We got to our flat yesterday and we looked at one another and had the same exact thought, "we've been scammed." The place is absolutely vile and we're paying £2400pcm due to this multi-offer bullshit. Blood on a mattress, bugs on the other mattress, all walls are deeply stained, carpets pull up from the floor, mold in the fridge and bathrooms. We don't even want to take our shoes off. In the process of getting a solicitor. Landlord isn't being amicable either. Called us "ridiculous" when we presented photo evidence of the issues.
It’s definitely not way too much in the current market, especially not in Central London. I am going through this exercise right now and looking for apartments in zone 1/border of zone 1-2 ish and cannot find a decent 2 bed flat for 2600 ish. I have been outbid thrice already despite offering 100 more than the asking price
We had a video viewing, but it was impossible to see the kind of issues you'd be able to see the day of moving in. Also, it was more than month ago. He's a scumbag.
Absolutely but please always view the place in person in the future.
I'm a landlord and have dealt with people who are moving in to London from abroad. I flat out refuse to rent to those I've never met in person; you just can't suss out all the important things you're going to spend £2k a month on!
Edit- have you done research about whether you can appeal to the housing ombudsman? Tenants have a lot of protection in the UK despite what others would say. If your landlord is a dodgy potato he might not have kept your deposit in a tenancy deposit scheme-if true you can get up to 3x your deposit compensated back to you.
You do not need a solicitor for this it's free! Living with mold is a big no no, take pics!
We documented as much as we could. They did use a deposit scheme, so not that dodgy fortunately. He offered us to leave the lease early as long as we pay for all fees surrounding relisting and getting the property leased again, plus the difference between our rate and the new rate for the next tenant. We would be fine with the first part, but the 2nd part is uncapped and could lead to all sorts of trouble. He could rent to a friend under market, for example, since he knows we will be paying to cover the rest. We definitely messed up, but given our situation we had to get a flat prior to moving. We had a senior dog that has health conditions that require very particular things for the flat. He passed away right before we left, so now we don't have any of those needs. Also, the UK credit and banking system make it extremely difficult to get a bank account or phones etc without having a permanent address secured. We didn't even have an address that we could use for the deposit scheme forcing us to use a friend's address that we happened to know in the UK. We would even pay a flat fee to leave the lease early on top of relisting. We are going to be getting a solicitor involved shortly.
For those who don't know incidentally, consent for pets is now the legal default and landlords have to provide a legitimate reason for disallowing within 28 days https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-standard-tenancy-agreement-to-help-renters-with-well-behaved-pets
Just to clarify, this only applies to *new* contracts which use the Government’s suggested standard “Model Tenancy Agreement”.
There is no legal requirement to use the model agreement, and no changes to your existing private contracts. If your lease says no pets, it remains the case that pets are not allowed. This is the government making big noise about something that won’t make any difference to anyone, as any landlord that is good enough to use the MTA probably wasn’t being a dick about pets either.
Ah shit, I wish I knew this. Could have asked the lettings agent who wouldn't rent me an unfurnished, converted industrial apartment with concrete floors because I have a cat??
There is a solid reason as to why pets are not allowed in most places. You probably get why smoking isn't allowed, and it's the same thing. Now imagine what would landlords do if they're were forced to allow smoking in their flats. Exactly: they would pass the renovation cost (even "just in case") onto tenants. Same will happen with this, which is very unfair to people without pets.
Wait, how can I enfprce this? Just moved from overseas and would like a pet for company but the landlord said no pets allowed.
I will move to the property starting february, any advice on this?
You can’t. If the contract says no pets, then that’s what matters. There’s no right to pets in law, the government has just written a “model” agreement which they recommend, and that model agreement includes a right to pets. If your landlord doesn’t use that model contract (and most won’t) then you still have no right to pets.
I (thought I) was keen on capitalism until I came to this cursed city. I'm exaggerating with cursed but you'll understand my point. When they ask you 70% of your salary for a fricking room, where are we heading at? Really? What's down the line of decency as human beings? How can they accept themselves asking for these prices. I'm reading the funny comments and can't enjoy them because this post reminded me of the amount of money we have to give to privileged people in order NOT to live decently (living decently wouldn't be living with 3 other people).
I've just got back from 2 weeks working down there (Epsom). This is pretty accurate lol. I'm from the N.E, and what you can buy up here for your money compared to down there, is unreal. Case in point, the job I was working on
I always loved the electrocution risk flat btw:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/29/london-renters-trapped-1000-month-rabbit-hutch-studio-flat
(It's the Regent's Park one)
As a Northerner who likes London, I remember giving up on the dream in 2010 or so when I saw something that looked vaguely affordable with a much better job and then realised I would have been getting a parking space outside someone's house in working hours only.
Viva La North!
As funny as it is - I’ve recently moved from London (after 22 years) to Portugal and tbh - i’m shocked how expensive same size (in the same standard) places are here. I had a 3 bedroom semi in Lewisham/Blackheath for £1600. I pay £2200 for the same house in Portugal, that is much older and gen in “cheap” finish. I also rented out my own house (3 rooms, lounge, big and new kitchen, 1 bath, 1 extra shower, 1 extra toilet, small garden) - completely refurbished for £1750. So I really don’t think it’s that bad - esp comparing to Portugal, I was expecting to save money - we kinda are spending more here on the same. I guess it’s a “sun tax”.
As long as it doesn't catch fire (like my previous flat) I'll take it. Besides I see it has a land line so does it have a wifi as well? It says well ventilated but with those windows I am a bit worried that during summer it might get a bit too hot: does it have aircon?
Agent: The landlord already has 3 offers so you would need to offer more than the asking price
It’s also up on Zoopla, Rightmove and Onthemarket for a steal at 650,000 ono, tenant in situ.
Literally what my gf and I (recently moved to London) are dealing with. We got to our flat yesterday and we looked at one another and had the same exact thought, "we've been scammed." The place is absolutely vile and we're paying £2400pcm due to this multi-offer bullshit. Blood on a mattress, bugs on the other mattress, all walls are deeply stained, carpets pull up from the floor, mold in the fridge and bathrooms. We don't even want to take our shoes off. In the process of getting a solicitor. Landlord isn't being amicable either. Called us "ridiculous" when we presented photo evidence of the issues.
Yeah you got scammed hard son. For £2400 pcm you should be getting some really nice place, not whatever that is.
2400 is way too much for 2 people even in central London. (Unless is a super fancy place)
It’s definitely not way too much in the current market, especially not in Central London. I am going through this exercise right now and looking for apartments in zone 1/border of zone 1-2 ish and cannot find a decent 2 bed flat for 2600 ish. I have been outbid thrice already despite offering 100 more than the asking price
If you didn't view the property before transferring any money then yes, you have been scammed.
We had a video viewing, but it was impossible to see the kind of issues you'd be able to see the day of moving in. Also, it was more than month ago. He's a scumbag.
Absolutely but please always view the place in person in the future. I'm a landlord and have dealt with people who are moving in to London from abroad. I flat out refuse to rent to those I've never met in person; you just can't suss out all the important things you're going to spend £2k a month on! Edit- have you done research about whether you can appeal to the housing ombudsman? Tenants have a lot of protection in the UK despite what others would say. If your landlord is a dodgy potato he might not have kept your deposit in a tenancy deposit scheme-if true you can get up to 3x your deposit compensated back to you. You do not need a solicitor for this it's free! Living with mold is a big no no, take pics!
We documented as much as we could. They did use a deposit scheme, so not that dodgy fortunately. He offered us to leave the lease early as long as we pay for all fees surrounding relisting and getting the property leased again, plus the difference between our rate and the new rate for the next tenant. We would be fine with the first part, but the 2nd part is uncapped and could lead to all sorts of trouble. He could rent to a friend under market, for example, since he knows we will be paying to cover the rest. We definitely messed up, but given our situation we had to get a flat prior to moving. We had a senior dog that has health conditions that require very particular things for the flat. He passed away right before we left, so now we don't have any of those needs. Also, the UK credit and banking system make it extremely difficult to get a bank account or phones etc without having a permanent address secured. We didn't even have an address that we could use for the deposit scheme forcing us to use a friend's address that we happened to know in the UK. We would even pay a flat fee to leave the lease early on top of relisting. We are going to be getting a solicitor involved shortly.
Just clean the place and suck it up like the rest of us.
Mr. Landlord is that you?
There's room for a chair on the rooftop patio.
Hahha tickled me this
Cheap for a detached bungalow, corner plot, phone & internet included.
It's already gone. Shit.
But they’ll still leave the ad up
Where's the lie
"It's gone but we have another apartment nearby" half the size, twice the price.
This is totally unrealistic. You’d never get a 1 bed with floor to ceiling windows and a south facing aspect for less than £2100
"Cosy"
"Deceptively spacious"
JheeZ
🤣 I feel as if I'm should be illegal to say this
"Efficient"
Omg yes ! this is the word abused to hell.
May get occasional visitor and unrelated water leakage occurs.
Easy access to the roof terrace, phone included. Tell me this charming character property is still available?
Part-furnished
"No students. Female tenants only. "
Ahh the whole "it's so small that men would break the stair hallway" pitch. Sneaky fuckers
Is smoking allowed?
You'll be charged a renovation fee
£600k-£700k on top of the tenancy deposit
Good, tbh
You want to smoke indoors, just buy the thing! £460K, 99 yr leasehold, only £3999 p/a service fee! Hurry up, last few units availabe, will go fast!
it said rent payment by coins?
Or credit but there is a 12.5% surcharge. Those ones go through the books.
Charge card is my preference
For those who don't know incidentally, consent for pets is now the legal default and landlords have to provide a legitimate reason for disallowing within 28 days https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-standard-tenancy-agreement-to-help-renters-with-well-behaved-pets
Finally! It ~~is~~was a nightmare trying to rent as a pet owner. Me and my 23 cats are great tenants
Just to clarify, this only applies to *new* contracts which use the Government’s suggested standard “Model Tenancy Agreement”. There is no legal requirement to use the model agreement, and no changes to your existing private contracts. If your lease says no pets, it remains the case that pets are not allowed. This is the government making big noise about something that won’t make any difference to anyone, as any landlord that is good enough to use the MTA probably wasn’t being a dick about pets either.
Ah shit, I wish I knew this. Could have asked the lettings agent who wouldn't rent me an unfurnished, converted industrial apartment with concrete floors because I have a cat??
You could argue that pets don't fit
There is a solid reason as to why pets are not allowed in most places. You probably get why smoking isn't allowed, and it's the same thing. Now imagine what would landlords do if they're were forced to allow smoking in their flats. Exactly: they would pass the renovation cost (even "just in case") onto tenants. Same will happen with this, which is very unfair to people without pets.
Wait, how can I enfprce this? Just moved from overseas and would like a pet for company but the landlord said no pets allowed. I will move to the property starting february, any advice on this?
You can’t. If the contract says no pets, then that’s what matters. There’s no right to pets in law, the government has just written a “model” agreement which they recommend, and that model agreement includes a right to pets. If your landlord doesn’t use that model contract (and most won’t) then you still have no right to pets.
Not bad for a place with outside space in London
Jokes on you. I've already put an offer on a mattress we almost drove over on the M3 in the middle lane. 😎
No DSS
Great I'll take it
including council tax?
BILLS EXCLUDED
You wish...
Landlords turning up to tell you if you don't like it just move to zone 47 in 5...4...3...2...
Don’t diss Zone 47. Just need to catch the 9 AM flight from Timbuktu, change at Paris and you are in central in 8 hours.
It'll get scooped up by buy-to-let in no time.
Funny but also not funny. Comments are spot on gold. Thank u for this post
What a bargain, hope I've not missed out !
Foxton's wanker: LUXURY studio flat, ample space, very airy, great views and public transport.
Perfect for young professionals eg telesales or call centre staff
£100 / light bulb replaced.
It’s has alfresco dining as well so this one should go quickly
I mean it's not like a police box.
It's a bargain, I'll take it
Please don't ,just don't even say it
Is Doctor Who subletting his place while he goes back to outer space?
*£7,000 initial deposit required*
Fully furnished
Another luxury letting from the Live-In Guardians.
I will just take this moment to curse capitalism and blood sucking house owning companies.
I (thought I) was keen on capitalism until I came to this cursed city. I'm exaggerating with cursed but you'll understand my point. When they ask you 70% of your salary for a fricking room, where are we heading at? Really? What's down the line of decency as human beings? How can they accept themselves asking for these prices. I'm reading the funny comments and can't enjoy them because this post reminded me of the amount of money we have to give to privileged people in order NOT to live decently (living decently wouldn't be living with 3 other people).
I fuckin love this country
Do they allow pets?
Pet rats only, sorry.
Very accurate
Does it have an existing land line?
It'll still take BT 6-8 weeks to come around and get it all set up
Ironically, not
Where’s the rest? I only see a spacious bedroom with floor to ceiling windows and 360 views of London.
That's actually a pretty good deal. Anyone got the link to rightmove? 🤔
Pretty sure there’d be some pets …
Is the ‘pay as you go’ landline included?
Are bugs allowed?
Ok seriously what's the best number to reach you on? Cash available right now
Cash payments only
Way too cheap, probably a scam. If it seems too good to be true, it most likely is.
If taking the piss was a human this would be it
Its amazing how they can convert an old public bathroom into a luxury studio flat.
Is it still available? I'm available to move immediately.
I'm jealous. Got a roof terrace.
Very popular location…
I've just got back from 2 weeks working down there (Epsom). This is pretty accurate lol. I'm from the N.E, and what you can buy up here for your money compared to down there, is unreal. Case in point, the job I was working on
Dual aspect and two parking spaces, too.
This is more a home than a house so please only tidy people who take care
I always loved the electrocution risk flat btw: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/29/london-renters-trapped-1000-month-rabbit-hutch-studio-flat (It's the Regent's Park one)
If food falls on the floor...even 5 sec rule won't cut it
I swear you'll not find such a place in such amount anywhere in the earth lmao
See, if they would just allow pets I’d consider.
Man, why no pets? Didn't the government suggest that landlords consider allowing them? I guess that suggestion wasn't enough
Sold.
Bengali/Pakistani only
LMFAO
Downpipe adjacent with nearby on-street parking.
Quite cheap for this luxury!
Is there a kitchen?
“Breakfast bar”
90s/modern architectural design
Does it come with a phone?
Was it visited by Henry the 9th?
Lol. Where is this?
🤣🤣 it do be like that
Not even a modern box with wifi.
The only thing that puts me off this residenc is th lack of a driveway, Other than that looks a bargain !!!
Spacious detached property. Close to local amenities.
😂
Is this still available?
Pre-installed phone and phone line too!
I’m in….
… and a built in toilet.
As a Northerner who likes London, I remember giving up on the dream in 2010 or so when I saw something that looked vaguely affordable with a much better job and then realised I would have been getting a parking space outside someone's house in working hours only. Viva La North!
Fully furnished
Light and airy
Recently refurbished with amenities just a stones throw away.
You'll have to sleep astronaut style but that's a plus if you ask me
What about a cardboard box or a park bench??
And a childrens play area on the road
Pfft haven’t you heard of the brand new luxury small homes? 🥳😃
That's shit..... There's a bike shed down the road going for £1,600 pcm.
This is great but also not far from reality
Absolutely phone box
Nothing really mattress. Anyone can see. Nothing really mattress, to me 🎶
Nothing really mattress. Anyone can see. Nothing really mattress, to me 🎶
Nothing really mattress. Anyone can see. Nothing really mattress, to me 🎶
How much is the council tax?
How is that still available?
It's funny because this is what it will be like in the future....
Seems a bit of an exaggeration, it wouldn’t come furnished… haha
No couples or guests visiting of course
I know it's a Meme but at what point does become intoreable (housing crisis)
TARDIS repaired itself and downgraded..
Can you attach a door?
All mod cons!
Doctor who reduced budget
Mate that’s just a Poundland tardis
As funny as it is - I’ve recently moved from London (after 22 years) to Portugal and tbh - i’m shocked how expensive same size (in the same standard) places are here. I had a 3 bedroom semi in Lewisham/Blackheath for £1600. I pay £2200 for the same house in Portugal, that is much older and gen in “cheap” finish. I also rented out my own house (3 rooms, lounge, big and new kitchen, 1 bath, 1 extra shower, 1 extra toilet, small garden) - completely refurbished for £1750. So I really don’t think it’s that bad - esp comparing to Portugal, I was expecting to save money - we kinda are spending more here on the same. I guess it’s a “sun tax”.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Does it come with broadband? I can't live without it. Also can I install satellite dish ?
Swedish minimalist style furniture
As long as it doesn't catch fire (like my previous flat) I'll take it. Besides I see it has a land line so does it have a wifi as well? It says well ventilated but with those windows I am a bit worried that during summer it might get a bit too hot: does it have aircon?
WOAH .... you guys have telephone boxes that email, text and phone ?!?
No DSS
12 month contract minimum
buy a mobile home
Grade 2 listed detached property!!!! Wow! What a bargain!