‘Meat eaters need not apply’: the reality of the rental crisis

Just finding a room in London is tough and landlords are getting very picky, as Lauren Almeida, Ella Nunn and Samuel Montgomery report

Fewer and fewer young people can afford to live alone in London, where a modest studio flat can easily set a fresh-faced graduate back thousands a month. But finding people to share a home with has also grown increasingly difficult.

For every room available, there are now six potential tenants. This seemingly endless pool of candidates means those looking to rent out a room have become unusually picky.

Aleisha Peace, a 23-year-old student in London, said it’s no longer about cleanliness or whether you can afford to pay your rent on time. She said the process of finding prospective flatmates now felt akin to dating.

“Now everyone wants their perfect type. You have to come off as cool – I know I can’t show up to a viewing in leggings and a T-shirt – I have to bring a change of clothes if I’m coming from somewhere else.”

Ms Peace has been looking for a room for almost two months, sending out more than 200 requests via SpareRoom, an online marketplace for rented accommodation. About 80 were rejected and the rest ignored.

“There is such a luxury of choice that people can specify for anything they want in a flatmate and they will get someone in. At every viewing I have been to, there have been at least two other potential roommates. You have to emulate a version of yourself at your most interesting. It is a really stressful process.

“I think people have become unreasonably picky – it’s not just about whether you can pay your rent on time. For example, the other day I saw an advert for a room that said ‘ Meat eaters need not apply’. I’ve seen some asking that people who work from home don’t apply, too. It feels close to discriminatory.”

Kristian Thorkildsen, a 22-year- old student, has been trying to find somewhere to live since May. He guesses that over the past three months alone he has inquired about more than 70 properties, viewed 30 and made offers on 10.

“I’ve been doing my own research online on sites like Gumtree and also talking to estate agents, but it is really difficult at the moment to find a place to live,” he said. “The market moves so quickly, and with limited viewings available and other renters desperate to find a place outbidding each other, it sometimes does feel a bit helpless.”

“I was initially looking for a one-bedroom apartment, ideally with a garden, in south- east London. But because we haven’t had any success, we’ve opened up our search area and budgets, and removed some of our nice-to-haves like a living space or outdoor area. However, this hasn’t really helped because there’s so many people looking and just not enough properties available. I do feel it is weighing on my mental health,” he said. “Not having a place to live is stressful and not only worries me, but also my family. I’m a student so they are supporting me which I’m grateful for, but it does place them under stress as well.”

On SpareRoom, the number of people looking for a room outnumbers room listings at a ratio of six to one. On Gumtree, another online marketplace, for every listing in London there are 18 replies. It is slightly higher in Birmingham, at 19 and in Edinburgh there are 25, the highest in the country.

‘ I TRIED FACEBOOK GROUPS AND ALMOST GOT SCAMMED’

Tumi Peters, a 22-year-old student, said he had struggled to secure a studio flat in London. “It’s been a horrendous experience – when I first started looking, I kind of assumed I could just state my budget and find a flat or studio that would be quite appropriate for me. I assumed there might be some bartering with landlords, but in the end it took me three months to find my studio.

“It was just horrendous – everyone wants the same flat, and you end up at viewings with 10 other people and then you feel kind of pressured to put in an offer you maybe can’t afford but you just have to do it to have any kind of chance. It feels like a lottery game.

“At first, I tried Facebook groups for a month or so and I almost got scammed, it was so awful. My friend was the one that pointed it out, I didn’t even initially realise. So after that I left all the Facebook groups and moved to SpareRoom. But that never came to fruition. Eventually I found my flat through Rightmove.

“I viewed about 15 properties – there was one time where I was supposed to be viewing with the letting agent and they just didn’t turn up for half an hour, and when they did, there was a queue of people with me waiting to view this place. We all viewed it together and that’s when I understood the competitive nature of the rental market.”

Competition has become so intense that exclusive online networks have manifested through social media platforms such as Instagram. Lowicks, which describes itself as a “vetted marketplace built on mutual connections” puts the elite in touch with those looking for flatshares. Users also advertise internships, holiday homes and tickets.

The Instagram profile’s posts – only visible to those who can prove they have at least five mutual followers with the account – shows rooms available to rent in Paddington for as much as £2,250 per month.

Charles Henry, a 24-year- old living in London, said the platform had accelerated his search for a home. “After months of getting nowhere with traditional estate agents and the aggressive demand of the London rental market, within a week of the flat being offered on Lowicks, we had viewed it with the landlord and signed our tenancy agreement,” he said.