Even taking a bedroom share in Kensington & Chelsea could set you back £675 per month
London’s rental market continues to prosper and despite a fall in sale prices in so-called super prime areas, demand from international buyers for both properties to buy and rent remains high. In Kensington and Chelsea, a recent search revealed something quite extraordinary, however. Some tenants are now so desperate to remain in the area — despite being unable to afford their rent — that they are now seeking individuals to split the cost of the bedroom they occupy.
Two listings on the website Easyroommate.com provide good examples of this. The first is a £675 per calendar month single bed in a room with two beds in Cornwall Gardens, SW7. The advertiser — who one can only hope doesn’t snore or is a mass murderer — lists it as “suitable for a student or professional” and all that is required is that the tenant be “clean and tidy and trustworthy”.
Another slightly cheaper option goes into greater detail about what is on offer. An advert from someone named Paul informs potential applicants that those able to pay £433 to share his “compact” studio flat in Old Brompton Road that not only will they get to live with “someone of English, Welsh, and Greek descent“ who “enjoy[s] bodybuilding, cycling and writing” but also that they’ll have the use of a “relatively brand new Brabantia bin”. Most reassuringly for applicants, Paul adds: “There will be no need for financial formalities, and a ‘pay-as-you-go’ ethos ought to suffice” and also points out that “a brand new duck-down duvet, cotton sheets and pillows will be provided, of course, free of charge”. They will, no doubt, be queuing round the block at the prospect.
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Back in the day…….
My pied a terre was a large double room right at the front on the ground floor of 72 Harrington Gardens, SW7
I rented it throughout the sixties; it cost twenty pounds a month
Oddly I knew it was a great deal at the time