07/06/2015
Helpful Hints on Renting as an LBS student
1. When searching for rental properties zoopla.co.uk and rightmove.co.uk are good places to start, most real estate agencies advertise on these websites
2. Most students live in the LBS bubble – Marylebone, Regent’s Park, St. Johns Wood, Primrose Hill, Lisson Grove and Maida Vale (in the order of most expensive to low). Some live further away in Camden, Bayswater, Fitzrovia, Hampstead
3. It takes a long time until you can actually move into a flat. It may take 1-2 weeks of looking, and another 1-2 weeks for the process of waiting for tenant to vacate, cleaning, credit checks, documentation gathering, contract drafting, inventory checks etc.
4. The vast majority of real estate agencies charge fees eg Anscombe & Ringland’s fee is £180 per person. Some agencies (eg JAC Stratton across from LBS) do not have fees and it never hurts to ask the others for a student discount! I got £30 off.
5. Rent is almost always negotiable, so make an offer! I got £30 off an advertised £580/week rent
6. You have to pay a holding deposit, usually two weeks rent, to ensure you do not solicit any other flats whilst the agent is working on documentation. You get it back after signing the contract
7. Be prepared to provide a lot of documentation: rental references, bank statements, proof of work, letter from LBS, references by friends etc.
8. Without credit history in UK you usually have to pay rent in half year instalments. Thus, the majority of LBS students pay half a year rent upfront
9. Most leases are 12 months, but it is possible to negotiate a break clause, eg after 6-9 months
10. On top of the rent you have to pay a full deposit, usually about 4-6 weeks of rent which you hopefully get in full at the end of the tenancy. Unfortunately many of us had to fight to get our deposit back without deductions
11. The majority of MBAs arrive at the start of August, creating an August student rush that seems to drive prices up. In St Johns Wood in August you will see MBA backpacks trawling from one inspection to another
12. I would recommend not waiting until the last flat pub crawl – most MBAs find flatmates from their own country, at Admits Weekend and on Facebook.
