London Flat Hunting Things You Need to Know + Tips | How to Rent a Flat in London

My tips for what you need to know if you're flat hunting in London and how I rented my London flat.
*Oops I meant 5 WEEKS rent for the deposit, not 5 month 😅
// links
www.rightmove.co.uk/
www.gumtree.com/
// connect with me
Instagram - / monicaxguan
// business inquiries
[e-mail]
// music
VirgoZilla Beatz - Lovely Day - thmatc.co/?l=50EC1579
Goosetaf - Bumblebee - thmatc.co/?l=A8AEB175
ninjoi. - Where Do I Go - thmatc.co/?l=A2ABD329
Kissmykas - A Breeze Day Too Long - thmatc.co/?l=1A26A022
Kissmykas - Chuah - thmatc.co/?l=7A208002
Chapters:
0:00​ Intro
1:00​ Timing
4:57 Agent Vs Landlord
8:51 Cost
11:31 Location
13:02 Where to look
14:26 My experience

[@qiarnab]

Council tax pays for bin collection, social care, police, roads, community services like libraries, litter collection etc xxx love your vids btw!

[@Rentlondonflats]

As London Agents we can confirm that splits are quite common. Also lower ground flats do suffer from damp issues as many have not been properly insulated. There are rogue scammers and landlords and usually the signals are when you're seeing the asking rent is way below the market average. Generally best to use a professionally certified agency that provide you with an independent money protection scheme which is a legal requirement.

[@richt71]

Council tax is like property tax and goes towards bin collection, street cleaning and repair. Each London borough charges different amounts. This is based on the size of property. So a studio flat is the cheapest. Westminster council is the cheapest @ £550 per year whereas my borough charges £1350 a year for s studio. You picked a good time to rent as rents have dropped in the last year as have requirements due to covid and more people leaving London. In more normal times credit checks are normal and the best places go within hours! Make sure any agent or landlord belongs to the rent deposit scheme, which is legal requirement to securely hold your deposit.

[@MonicaXGuan]

Ahhh Thanks for sharing! Good to know 🙏

[@julien5158]

What about 1 bedroom flat in borehamwood

[@cianog]

In London Converted properties give you more space and can be cheaper . New builds are more expensive and generally smaller. The developers try to make up for this with other services like a concierge service or onsite gyms.

[@nicolejanine4060]

Thanks so much for documenting and sharing tips from your move! I’m from Toronto trying to move to London as well, so these are very specific and helpful to me!! ❤️

[@MonicaXGuan]

Glad it was helpful! Good luck with your move 💞

[@dazza9326]

That was very well explained... Enjoy your life in London, now that we're moving out of lockdown :)

[@yogirajk4728]

11:25- I believe you meant 5 weeks instead of 5 months. 😊 Regarding location, for people moving for work/study, I would suggest them to download London tube map and target areas at walking distance from tube stations which are on the same tube line as the 2-3 closest tube stations to office/university.

[@MonicaXGuan]

haha yes 5 weeks 🙏🏻

[@hotstuffrsm]

Ahaha I almost died there

[@felicityyuan2709]

this was super helpful! thanks for outlining the video

[@marissakramer6002]

Just found your channel today and I love it already! I’m in a similar situation right now as I’m moving to the UK next month, but I can only do virtual viewings too.. It makes it so much harder, cause I don’t know where I’m gonna end up until the day I arrive.. calms me down hearing your experiences on it!

[@MonicaXGuan]

Aww thank you! 💕 Good luck with your move!

[@karolinaks4192]

This was so thorough...thank you!!

[@blueberrydiw8340]

Very informative from start to the end. Thank you so much for this video very helpful.

[@killerqueen1148]

Lots of really good info! Thanks! Wishing you the best...cheers!

[@MonicaXGuan]

Thank you 💕

[@moonbeam0124]

The video I needddeedddd :) Thank you so much for documenting everything! Also, thanks for the time stamps!

[@MonicaXGuan]

Glad it was helpful! 🥰

[@sunshinehwy2558]

Thank-you for the detail ♡

[@designerbags]

Thank you so much for your videos! It helped alot

[@mariel_lopez]

Such a great video!!

[@MonicaXGuan]

Thank you 💕

[@Shani9120]

I enjoyed this video. Thank you for your input.

[@MonicaXGuan]

💕💕

[@nathanaelshing]

ahhhh, very insightful 🤓

[@krasnoesolnyshko5422]

the way she pronounces the word agent as asian is really fun.

[@st4rstuck]

I know, I thought she is saying Asian (agent). I am also Asian though.

[@NoodlesMusings]

Thankyou for the good advice.

[@stephencrossland2493]

Just In case you do not know. Your deposit should be returned when your tenancy ends, if flat left in a good condition. Landlords can be difficult on returning it. There's help on line if this is the case.

[@ShoppingwithRina]

That’s great info

[@tianzng53]

im not even old enough to rent an apartment but looking at houses excites me xDD

[@MonicaXGuan]

Haha looking might be better than renting :p Rent payments are no fun 🙃

[@deekshatalreja3132]

Really helpful, thank you! I'm looking to shift sometime in November this year, living in a place like yours would be perfect, could you tell me which building is this, if that's okay?

[@lamashere1273]

Thank you so much

[@Heyyy_qiqiqi]

what areas are you planning to move to after your year is up? I'm planning to move to London as well!

[@MonicaXGuan]

Not sure yet but I love the nottinghill and Kensington area 💕

[@simplyshama]

@@MonicaXGuan ooh those are posh and pricey but very beautiful.

[@mizsab365]

Great video and soo insughtful, what will you be doing for work while in London?

[@MonicaXGuan]

Currently I still work for my canadian company 🤗

[@mizsab365]

@@MonicaXGuan Thats amazing! I hope you get to explore London once the restrictions lift x

[@sueperlicious128]

Hello Monica. Love your videos! We’re looking to move to London asap and looking for a nice and affordable Airbnb to stay for a couple weeks - just wondering where’s this property located please? Love the studio apartment that you’ve stayed while hunting for your flat. 😊

[@MonicaXGuan]

London city island but these flats have gone up a lot in price post pandemic :S

[@sueperlicious128]

@@MonicaXGuan thank you! Yes, totally! :(

[@Chrissy8310a]

Did you have to show proof of employment in order to proceed? As a person coming from Canada did you require a guarantor?

[@MonicaXGuan]

Yup I did, I didn't need a guarantor since I had proof of employment, but if you don't an alternative is to pay 6 month up front.

[@JheyDazzle]

Hi... how did you go about arranging your utilities before you left Canada? Did you pay your deposit before as well?

[@MonicaXGuan]

So you set up utilities after you move in. Wifi you could potentially set up ahead of time... but I think you have to be in the UK.

[@NandoC2]

I am moving to the UK from Thailand as well. My price range is around 12 - 1,300 as well. May I ask what's the size of your apartment?

[@NandoC2]

Nervermind. I just went on to the end of your video, and saw the link to the apt tour. :)

[@rashisonal6080]

Hi Monica, did you need a national insurance number to rent your flat ? I am in the same situation as you were- moving to London from abroad and the letting agency is asking me for the National insurance number which I can only get after coming to. London

[@MonicaXGuan]

I didn’t need it to rent!

[@pathumifernando2111]

Does this means that your aartment was ready to move once your quaratine was over? Did you ay any money and signed agreements before moving to uk

[@MonicaXGuan]

I Signed the lease before I came and moved in right from the airport. I send the deposit and everything through international etransfer

[@pathumifernando2111]

@@MonicaXGuan thank you very much

[@st4rstuck]

How did you get the agents to reply to you? I am also from Canada and currently looking while here. We emailed 20-30 agents but only 2 replied.and how were you approved of the rent, do they asked for more cash deposits?

[@MonicaXGuan]

Oh that's odd hmmm all the ones I contacted responded, I usually just reached out through a listing I'm interested in. The agency I ended up renting from had an external company do the referencing process to check my income, but actually since I was not approved yet to work in the UK I did need to pay 6 month up front.

[@neonhandshakelove]

You can get a discount on council tax if youre a single person

[@MonicaXGuan]

Oh ya! Forgot to mention that!

[@cloudblue431]

her: agents... the subtitles: ✨ asians ✨

[@MonicaXGuan]

I can’t unhear it now 😂

[@maddiemccabe7133]

Hi Monica since you've moved out now is there anyway you could say what complex this is, im moving to uni in London and im looking for somewhere to rent with my boyfriend xx

[@MonicaXGuan]

Yes for sure! I talked in more detail in this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4C6nIRmedSSm7M but it's on London City Island, Amelia House

[@maddiemccabe7133]

@@MonicaXGuan Thank you so much, I hope you enjoy your new place xx

[@sarahw7669]

What career do you work in?

[@yasminbox411]

hi, how do you find places without the agencies?

[@MonicaXGuan]

I just contact individual listings and the agent that listed them so I do work with agencies but just don't rely on a single one. You can also use open rent to find private landlords.

[@torigordon8730]

Where is this located pls 😩

[@uncutsceneonline4596]

which area are you living in right now then ??

[@hklocalgal]

Did you need a co-sponsor as you mentioned? I am trying to fond a work around.

[@MonicaXGuan]

If you're talking about for work, for the T5 visa you don't need a sponsor!

[@hklocalgal]

@@MonicaXGuan Hi, I meant for an application for a flat. Was a UK based co-signer needed for the rental application?

[@xoxjelloxox]

How do you make sure the person owns the place? Is it reasonable to ask for paperwork? And that it’s real and safe?

[@xoxjelloxox]

And I was wondering how you pay your rent in pounds? Do you convert using the bank? Or apps like TransferWise?

[@xoxjelloxox]

And are you renting this place week to week? Or month to month? That’s kind of odd to me bc I’m used to Toronto being leased a year at a time, but it’s more convenient if it’s month to month or week

[@xoxjelloxox]

Oh and in the moving video you mentioned you moved in and started working the next day? Could you do a video on how hard it is to find a job? Or do you remote your job in Canada?

[@MonicaXGuan]

So there's many ways you can check but one way is to check the government’s land registry service to see if the names match. You can also ask for copy of their ID as well, they don't have to give it to you, but if they're are legitimate they shouldn't have a problem with it.

[@MonicaXGuan]

Yup I pay in pounds and use transferwise :)

[@maudtrvn884]

Are virtual tours convenient and nice ?

[@MonicaXGuan]

hmm I think it's still better to see it in person. When you do virtual showings you definitely need to be more proactive and like ask the person to show you certain things, different angles etc.... You can get a sense of the space but not ideal. 😅

[@maudtrvn884]

@@MonicaXGuan okay ! Thanks for your answer ;)

[@christabel5148]

Why your pronunciation of 'agent' sound like 'Asian'? So cute

[@pronertia]

I noticed that too.. I think it's the soft pronunciation of the letter T. It's makes her Canadian accent really enduring.

[@pronertia]

@Kay Flip I understand what you're saying, however I'm British am used to hearing tons of local and international accents, so I can definitely hear her Canadian accent. I don't know her heritage, and Asian isn't a monolith so can't place that. That said I do have a sense of Malaysian, Singaporean, Vietnamese or say Sri Lankan, Bangladesh or Indian accent so cold totally identify what that inflection would sound with say a Glasgow, Liverpool, Toronto or Vancouver accent. Hope that makes sense.

[@pronertia]

@Kay Flip I'm enthusiastically agreeing with you. I can hear Canadian accent and they way she pronounces "Agent' makes her accent endearing to me.

[@whynottyg7250]

She says agent like Asian lol

[@charlotterhotilde7388]

Agents not Asians lol. The English in me is like what?

[@qiarnab]

The new builds are mostly sought after by internationals. Most true Londoners don’t want to live in a isolated new build in Canary Wharf /Greenwich Peninsula etc

[@charlotterhotilde7388]

Did you just called agents Asians ?