Expat Tips for Renting in London

Moving to London and the UK is a really exciting proposition for many and I’m grateful to have helped dozens of families settle into life in this incredible city.  But while it’s exciting, it can also be very stressful and at times frustrating.  

So here’s my top tips to help ease the stress of renting or a property in   London/UK.  (If you’re considering buying, please get in touch as the process is va

What’s Your Budget? 

The first thing to start whether you’re renting or buying is what’s your budget?  Many people have lots of visions of where to live in London but the closer you get to prime central London, the more expensive it will be.   

So many may opt to live in zone 2 or 3 where you tend to get more space and value for the money.  

While you need to budget for your rent, don’t forget that you need to budget for:

• utilities
• broadband/internet
• tv licence
• council tax

Other key criteria beyond budget 

• is amenities/features – what type of a property do you want? Space in the UK tends to be a lot smaller than what many are used to in America, so be ready to compromise.  
• Classic/traditional property that may have more period detacles & charm, but may not be the most efficient for space layout or features such as heating, windows, faucets, etc.  Versus modern buildings that may have more amenities like a porter, gym, pool, even residents movie theatre. 
• Also consider whether you’ll want outdoor space in which case you may be restricted to properties with balconies or for private gardens, may be on lower floors including the lower ground floor (i.e. basement).  
• Do you have a pet?
• If you’re a 2 sharers, bedroom sizes may be very important

Helpful Websites

Unless you work with a property finder such as myself, you’ll start your search with the online portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla.   Once you see properties that might suit your criteria you’re going to have to contact each agent with the listing and arrange viewings.  

Tip: Make sure that when you’re booking a viewing, that they have a clear sense of your criteria because a lot of agents will actually push you to see things that may not suit or are outside of your budget.  

Consider Furnishings

 A lot of properties have furnishings, so you want to make sure to say if there’s particular pieces that you want or don’t want, you want to ask for that upfront. When we work for our renters, I encourage them to put an offer in writing clearly stating what your issues are, if there’s any maintenance or repair issues you’ve identified you want to make sure that you put that in writing as well and if you can get the landlord to get it into the lease you want to make sure that you do that once your offer has been accepted. 

Sometimes furnishings may not include wardrobes, so be prepared for that.  

Make an Offer

Once you’ve done a viewing and maybe you found the right property, the thing that is unique to London is you can make an offer. In the States we’re not really used to making offers we’ll pretty much accept that the asking price is the asking price and you go with it, but here in London you are able to make an offer and put in any key criteria that you’re going to have to have.

Break Clause

The other key feature that we find in London in the UK that I wasn’t used to seeing in America is what’s called a “Break Clause” that gives typically, again, it’s a negotiated concept, but if you ask for a Break Clause it’s going to be likely that the landlord also has a break clause. So say you have a 12 month lease that has a six month Break Clause with a two month notice it means that starting from month 4, either party, if that’s what’s been agreed, can give a two month notice, say that at the end of the two months they are terminating the lease and the landlord can take the possession back with no other costs, no legal requirements, or anything like that. 

So again if that’s something you want to consider, let’s say you’ve been repositioned in London on a 12 month assignment that has the possibility of you moving somewhere else halfway through that assignment, you might want that Break Clause but if you’re given that break cause it means the landlord can have one as well. The only reason why that might be an issue is say you haven’t been a performing tenant the landlord can then look to just merely give you notice and you have to be out.

Holding Deposit

Most agents will ask for a holding deposit, there’s been a load of changes since the 1st of June that you want to make sure that you’re aware of and I have made a video showcasing the recent changes and how they’ll impact you as a tenant and one of the big changes is, while you have to put a holding deposit down, it is capped at one week’s rent so agents can no longer take two and three weeks rent which they had been able to do in the past. 

The key role of the holding deposit is to secure that property for you, subject to tenant referencing, so you now know if you passed tenants referencing that that property is likely yours, it’s not guaranteed until you’ve signed a tenancy agreement and you’ve paid all your money, but it means that it’s going to give you the time to get through tenant referencing, so once you start tenant referencing, you definitely want to make sure you respond as quickly as possible. 

Tenant Referencing

Having said that, be prepared to probably not pass tenant referencing as an expat or foreigner moving to London. Why? Because one of the key criteria they’re going to want to see is that you have a UK bank account. Now, you’d love to go get a UK bank account but one of the restrictions or one of the things you’re going to need to get a UK bank account is a permanent address, so it’s a bit circular as you can see that you need an address, don’t have an address, need a bank account to get it address, don’t have…anyway it’s all messed up so the point is if you’re not able to pass because you don’t have a UK bank account, be prepared that most landlords or lettings agents will require you to pay a certain number of months up front, that’s typically anywhere from six months to maybe you can get away with three but be prepared that you’re going to likely have to pay up to six months rent in advance, subject to you getting a bank account. 

Again, when I’ve let out properties we’ve had that restriction and the tenant has requested that if they get their bank account in months two and three of living there then when the next six months is due they can return to a month by month payment and most landlords will be okay with that, if that was the one issue that was an issue at the time of tenant referencing.

Security Deposit

Security deposit which is now capped at five weeks rent for tenancy values under £50,000 per annum and capped at six weeks rent for tenancy values over £50,000 per annum.  

Should be held in a government sponsored or government approved tenant deposit scheme so the landlord shouldn’t be holding it personally in their personal account, that is not allowed, it should be held off-site or in a third party and which has a process to review any claims, if at the end of the tenancy the landlord is now seeking renumerations for damages that they’ve claimed you as the tenant has made and there’s a formal process to do that. 

Review Lease

Once you’ve passed tenant referencing and now you’re signing your lease, you need to make sure that you’ve reviewed that lease because it’s between you and the landlord. 

Inventory Checks

Once you finish that tenant referencing, signed the contract, and paid your money, you’re going to be prepared to have an inventory check-in. 

I’ve had a rare situation recently where we didn’t have an inventory, I don’t know why a landlord wouldn’t do that because they’re leaving themselves exposed but be prepared that there’s going to be an inventory check-in report and check out report. 

This is a documented report, it should be done by a third party which is going to list out all the conditions of the property as it was presented to you they’re going to look at the walls, they’re going to look at cracks, they’re going to look at any stains, are going to look at, if it’s a furnished property, the condition of the furnishings, such that that will be compared at the end of your tenancy to the condition you’ve returned it in and if there are any damages that go beyond normal wear and tear, the landlord can seek compensation. 

Now that you’ve finished the inventory check in and you’ve moved into the flat and you’ve got all the keys and you’re happy and ready to go, remember you’re going to have to put utilities in your name and again one thing you need to really be prepared for & this is my 

BONUS TIP – is to be prepared for additional costs of renting a property, which includes not just utilities but also you’re going to have to pay TV license as well as council tax, again that’s a concept that most foreigners might not be used to, but council tax is really for the services associated with living in that community such as trash collection and those types of things, so again that’s an expense that a landlord can pass onto tenants so you need to be prepared to factor that into your budget. 

So with that, I’ve given you all the key steps and things you need to consider when you’re renting a property in London to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible for you, do let me know if you have any questions in the comments.