Foreign Property News | Posted by Shwe Zin Win
It’s no secret that renting in the UK is a wild ride. When tenants aren’t contending with astronomical prices, they’re dealing with nightmarish flatmates, mould, or difficult landlord.
Gen Z and Millennials have collectively been dubbed ‘Generation Rent,’ and in London, people pay at least 50% more for rent on average than anywhere else in the UK. The average is now an eyewatering £1,625 per month.
Jess, 24 Location: London Rent: £997 bills included Year: 2023
‘My girlfriend and I were splitting the cost of rent in a room in a shared house for 6 months while we looked for a more permanent alternative.
‘In my contract for the room, it was stated that fans must not be used on the premises (likely due to the electric bill). If we were to use them, we’d be charged £10 a week, apparently.
‘I won’t admit whether I broke this rule or not. But we had a 30C heatwave that summer and my room turned into a sauna. I hope he enjoyed whatever he managed to buy with the tiny amount saved on electricity!’
(One tenant even decided to move out of her property early (Picture: Getty Images)
Laura, 30 Location: London Rent: Around £650 per month Year: 2016
‘Once, the kitchen sink in a flat I shared with seven other people was completely blocked and spewing brown water everywhere. I tried all the usual solutions but nothing worked, so I called my landlord.
‘He was already quite a dodgy guy and used to call me late at night ‘to chat’, but I thought he’d at least do the bare minimum to help (even if just for the sake of his property). Nope: he refused to come out or call in a professional, instead telling me to buy sulfuric acid and pour it down the plughole.
‘Given this is a highly corrosive substance that can cause burns and reacts violently with water – let alone the multiple chemicals I’d already used – I said I wasn’t comfortable with his ‘solution.’
He then flew off the handle, told me I was useless and threatened to come round, throw away my belongings and change the locks if I didn’t leave within the next few days. I (stupidly) hadn’t signed a proper tenancy agreement so just decided to cut my losses and do a runner.
‘I later heard from one of the people who still lived there that the landlord had come round with a bottle of sulfuric acid and proceeded to blow up the whole kitchen. Karma in action.’ Will, 23
Location: London Rent: £875 Year: 2024
‘I moved into my first room in London and noticed one of my flatmates had her boyfriend around all the time.
Wasn’t much of a deal to me as they kept to their room. We got a message from the landlord one morning saying that any guests should be preapproved by him and need to pay a fee of £10 a night.
‘I had no idea how he knew and was scared the girl would think I had blabbed but turns out he had cameras on every floor of the building staircase so could see who went into which apartment and when.
Ref: A £10 guest fee and a non-existent kitchen: 6 renters share their wildest UK landlord stories Photo Credit-Getty Images
