What I Rent: Tom, £1,733 a month for a one-bedroom flat in the Barbican Estate

What’s it like to rent in London?

That’s what we’ve been investigating through our weekly series, What I Rent.

The general consensus: Expensive. We knew that already, but it’s good to see we’re not the only ones paying absurd amounts of money so we have the pleasure of living near a Tube station.

We’ve also been enjoying nosing around people’s rented properties, checking out not just the specifics of what they’re getting for what they’re paying, but also seeing how they’ve made a rented property feel like home.

This week we’re with Tom, who lives on the Barbican Estate.

Hi Tom! How much do you pay to live in your flat?

I pay £400 a week for rent.

You get heating included on the estate but at the cost of not being able to control it. It’s turned on from October to April and delivered under-floor. A friend lies his washed clothes on the floor to dry them; I stick to more traditional methods.

I’m not sure what I pay otherwise, around £150 I think? I’m paying £75 a month for energy through Bulb, which I think is hugely overpriced, and a mistake on their part, but I don’t know how to find out a meter reading to get to the correct figure because no one can tell me where the meter is.

What do you get for that money?

1 bedroom, 1 bath, a kitchen, and a living/dining room area.

How long have you lived in the flat?

Coming up to two years in December.

And how did you find it? 

I always wanted to live here and was in Camberwell before doing a daily cycle in. One day I had a fairly bad crash, and so when I got better I decided to just move here to a) avoid the commute and b) tick off a bucket list item.

All I did was call a few agents who specialise in the Barbican and leave my name with them. Flats don’t come up too often, so it helped that it was December, a quiet month for lettings.

Do you like where you live?

I absolutely love it. It’s a 5 minute walk from the office; and seemingly nowhere I ever want to go is more than 20 minutes away by bike. Despite being so central, it’s incredibly quiet.

I live by the estate’s lake, so get nice views of nature out the window, including a shaggy old heron and lots of ducklings.

And because of the adjoining arts centre, there are usually some friends lurking on a weekend who’ll come over for a coffee.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

Yeah, it’s about 650 sq ft which is more than enough. All I’ve really got in here is books, lamps, and a laptop so there’s plenty of room for loafing, or playing football with balled up socks.

Do you enjoy living alone?

I do enjoy it. I have a stressful job so it’s nice to get back and just collapse on the floor sometimes, George Michael in Arrested Development-style, without any obligation to chat.

That said, I often have people around so it doesn’t get too lonely.

Are there any problems with the flat?

It’s an old place that could do with a refurb. All the features are original (i.e. ancient) and so, while cute, they’re not particularly efficient.

The oven is tiny, the water runs either scolding hot or freezing cold and there’s a weird garbage disposal system called a ‘garchey’ that takes tremendous effort to keep clean and ends up smelling quite badly if you neglect it.

Oh and the ceiling leaks when it rains very heavily.

How have you made the place feel like home?

I had a bit of a battle with the landlady to let me get rid of some huge old sofas when I first moved in that were really killing the vibe. Once she acquiesced I added my plants and various bits of furniture I’ve acquired over the years. I’ve got a big flokati sheepskin rug that is nice to walk over barefoot.

Any plans to move again?

I want to stay here forever ideally. The only reasons I’d move would be to either get a flat at the top of the big towers they have here (for the views) or to move somewhere where dogs are allowed.

And what about buying a place?

I have a property ISA so I sort of get all the benefits of owning without actually buying a house. But nevertheless I would love to renovate somewhere one day.

Alas for now it’s unachievable until I meet a rich woman and marry into wealth.

Same, Tom. Same. Shall we have a look around his flat?

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. 

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MORE : What I Rent: Chris and Liv, £1,520 per month for a two-bedroom flat in Brixton

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