Credits: Social Media
Estate agent highlights the bleak cost of renting in London with ‘European prison’ comparison
Renting an apartment in a capital city is a tough venture right now and one estate agent has set out to prove exactly that& by comparing them to actual European prisons.
It might sound like an easy challenge – picking out which is a Zone 2 rental and which is a German prison, but its actually nearly impossible.
Is it an expensive room in London or a European prison?
Lettings agent Bob Makler shared his comparison video to Instagram Reels on October 18, where it consequently went viral, leaving many in shock.
Time to play: Is it an expensive room in London or a European prison? he told the camera, before doing exactly that. The first photo had some kind of uni accommodation vibes said Makler, showing a single bed with a wooden headboard underneath a sizeable window. The bed had a reading lamp next to it along with a shelving unit above it. It might look like student housing, but its actually a German prison.
Next up was a room with a mattress on the floor&and not a nice mattress either. The room had a school-esque board on the wall along with fire information signs on the door. Prison, guessed Makler. But no, its a �900 per month London rental.
Its tiny, its gloomy, its dull, described Makler of the third room. That could of course fit either London or a prison, but its a London rental with a single bed with a desk not even big enough to fit a laptop on, despite costing �859 per month.�
The fourth choice was a bunk bed with a bright orange wall, along with a large wooden desk with a stereo and TV on. A guitar could be seen on the bed with a bookshelf above it. Looks like something youd stay if you study in London, Makler said. However, its a Norwegian prison.
For the fifth and final one, Makler described that the room looks tiny, the bed looks solid, the window looks like it doesnt fully open while it costs �700 per month. The description says it all but missed the huge bonus of the bedside table, which just about fits the one coffee cup on. Of course, this was a London rental, not a prison.�
Londons rental crisis
As shown by Maklers video, London is facing an unbearable rental crisis at the moment, meaning that coming by rental spaces is hard enough but when you do, youll be sure to pay a load of money for it.�
According to data from Rightmove, monthly rents across London have risen by almost a third since the height of the pandemic, with the average advertised rent coming in at �3,631.
Spareroom, where people can head to find rooms in shared properties, showed in its data that tenants can expect to pay four-figure amounts for 43 out of 117 postcodes in London. The data reported by The Standard was up from just 33 postcodes six months earlier, and only seven in early 2022.
Well, that comparison is bleak for Londoners�looking to rent
Them having Harry underneath the stairwell makes so much more sense now, joked one user.
Simultaneously hilarious and sad, noted another user.
The price for those barely humane apartments is insane, commented a viewer.
