How to Find a Flat in London as a Study Abroad Student

Finding a place to rent in your own city can be difficult. But finding housing when you're halfway across the world — sometimes without the ability to stop by for a viewing in person — poses extra challenges. Here's a quick overview I wrote in hopes that you won't be as confused as I was when I was told I would have to find my own accommodations abroad:

The Process

Letting Agents/Landlords

Many landlords list their property with an agency. If that is the case, the agent may be your main contact for viewings, applications, deposits, and the like rather than the landlord. Essentially, the agent would serve as the go-between between you and the landlord. There may be additional transactional fees charged for using a letting agent.

Here's a pros/cons list of using a letting agent vs. dealing directly with a landlord.

Helpful Vocabulary

Bills included = Usually the rent price listed includes gas, electricity, water, wifi etc., although it is helpful to specify with the landlord/agent exactly what this entails
Flat = Apartment
Let = Rent
Ppw = Price per week
Ppm = Price per month

Location

Zones

During your search, you may see the words "zone" pop up relatively frequently. There are nine transport zones in London. Zone 1 includes Central London — aka the place where most people go for the sightseeing. Zone 2 encompasses the ring around zone 1, zone 3 around zone 2, and so on. Check out a map here!

Flats in Zone 1 will tend to be more expensive given they're located in Central London.

Neighborhoods

Want to live close to the theater? Live in a hip neighborhood known for its street art? Want to live in a more residential area? Huffington Post has a helpful list of the variety of London neighborhoods and a brief description of each neighborhood's characteristics.

If you're concerned about safety, do some research on crime statistics in the neighborhoods.

Don't forget to take into account nearby supermarkets. The main chains in London are Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Waitrose. Look for these near your potential apartments!

Tube Stations

Don't forget to note how close your apartment may or may not be to the underground or bus station. I'd recommend living within walking distance to the underground or a bus station if you're planning on doing a lot of traveling/exploring within London and outside of London.

Practicalities 

Rent

Take note of what comes after the numbers. Is it listed as price per week or price per month?

Here's some helpful information about average rent costs in different areas of London.

I'm not going to lie. Renting in London is so expensive if you're in Central London and you're not sharing a place with someone. If you're looking to reduce rental costs, consider sharing a flat with another person or renting a room within a house.

However, rent prices are negotiable — within reason — of course. If you're planning on negotiating your rent, have specific reasons for doing so, and keep in mind that the agent/landlord can always reject your offer.

Another option may be offering to pay rent upfront. I offered to pay six months rent upfront at a lower price than listed. However, and this is a big one to note, this can be very risky, especially if you haven't seen the apartment in person.

I've also been told August and September are often high demand months since it's a popular time for students to search for housing. As a result, flats are taken quite quickly — sometimes within 1-3 days. Don't be alarmed. New properties become available equally as quickly.

Lease Length

Many flats require a minimum of 6 months, but there are a number of exceptions, such as student housing, short term leases, and Airbnbs. Most housing websites in the UK will list out the length of the lease. You can also filter according to "short lets," which are usually leases that run shorter than six months.

You can also try negotiating the lease length with the landlord/agent.

Utilities

Will you need to set up utilities and pay those utility bills separately or are utilities included with the rental price? These utilities can include gas, water, electricity, internet, a television license, and council tax.

Television license: If you want to watch live television, regardless of whether it's on an an actual television, your phone, tablet, or laptop, you must pay the television license. It's required by UK law. If you don't plan on watching live television, you must inform them that you do not plan to do so.

Council tax: The council tax is essentially a tax by the local government on the property that pays for certain services, such as trash collection, that either you or the landlord is required to pay. Check to see whether you are responsible for paying the council tax. If you live in a household with only full-time students, you may be exempt from the council tax.

Furnished/Unfurnished

Does the apartment come furnished or unfurnished? Most of the apartments I viewed online when I was doing my search were furnished. As a study abroad student, I made that a high priority as I didn't want to have to think about finding furniture upon arrival and dealing with selling furniture upon move out.

Transportation Costs

Don't forget to factor in your transportation costs. If you live farther away, you will likely pay a higher fare to get to class and back.

Waiting Until You're There to Find Accommodation

If you can't find anything you like online or just want to view the flat in person, consider booking short term accommodation at a hotel or Airbnb for a week or two while you attend flat viewings. If you're going this route, it'll be helpful to have a number of viewings scheduled ahead of time, so when you land, you can hit the ground running. It might be a little nerve wracking and stressful to arrive without a definitive housing plan, but don't worry! London is a such a huge, vibrant city with new rental properties popping up everyday. A number of students in my study abroad program chose to go this route and all ended up finding a flat within two weeks.

Helpful Resources 

• Friends in London: Always a good starting point to get a lay of the land
• Rightmove
• Rightmove Student
• Zoopla
• Spareroom
• Spareroom Student
• Gumtree
• Airbnb: Many of my friends ended up finding accommodations via Airbnb and negotiating a 3-4 month long-term lease with the landlord
• Loot
• Facebook housing groups: Students will often sublet their places as well, so try to join some Facebook groups for more options