NEW to London? Then you may already have discovered that finding that perfect pad is often easier said than done.
Click here for the areas of the city that are most popular with Irish residents - and also the least popular.
To help take the hassle out of securing your home away from home we’ve teamed up with David Butler from Rentonomy to share some top tips.
Top tips for Irish people renting in London
1. The best compromise when renting is location. Irish-born Londoners tend to be very savvy when it comes to choosing where to live.
The top three Irish areas, Willesden Green (NW10), Cricklewood (NW2), and West Hampstead (NW6) are relatively affordable and well connected to central London by the Jubilee line.
Take a punt… sometimes getting a bigger place and renting out the extra room can actually work out cheaper on an individual basis.
2. Flat sharing, food thieving, shower queues, hot water squabbles, cleaning rotas… it’s not for everyone, especially if you’re moving in with people you don’t already know but it is cost-effective way of living in London.
Just get on with it.
Becoming familiar with London's bus routes is a useful way of being well-connected within the city3. Rents are significantly higher around train and tube stations and most will find them unaffordable, even when you get beyond city limits.
London’s buses, not to mention the bus drivers, are the un-sung heroes of the transport network.
If you familiarise yourself with bus routes and figure out which ones are best to get you into work or college then you’ll be well placed to find affordable and well-connected places to live.
4. Don’t be put off by the technical term Inventory Tenancy. These agreements are legal documents which set out the responsibilities of you and your landlord. Insist on one. It’s VERY important.
If a landlord doesn’t offer this or is reluctant to do so, there’s something up.
The property inventory is a catalogue of the contents of a property and a record of the condition of a property. It is generally carried out just before a tenant moves in and just before a tenant moves out.
An Inventory Tenancy is a crucial aspect of rentingThe landlord will take a deposit, and if there is any damage he or she can withhold it. It’s very important to know exactly what condition things were in and have it written down and agreed on.
The landlord is also responsible for gas, electricity and fire safety.
5. Queue for the loo...think carefully about the number of bathrooms. If you are living with more than one person and have similar schedules you should think twice about renting a place with only one bathroom.
Few things disrupt domestic harmony more than a queue for the loo.
