Comment: ‘Slim hope for London renters amid rent rises and bidding wars’

How do you find a London rental at the moment? Judging by stories from those looking for a new tenancy in the capital the answer seems to be a ‘no object’ attitude to money and/or an unusually cosy relationship with a landlord or letting agent with a property to shift.

One group of recent grads moving to south-west London happened to know their landlord already. Did that get them preferential treatment? Well, they were allowed to watch a video tour of the house before it was listed to let. But the perks stopped there.

Want to view in person before handing over the best part of £5,000 for a deposit? Fat chance.

Their choice was to secure it there and then or risk losing it in a bidding war. Having endured dozens of similar multi-tenant Hunger Games viewings they decided that the bigger risk was not being scammed but indefinite sofa surfing.

These bidding wars have escalated so much that tenants need escalating wodges of cash beyond the usual five-weeks’ rent.

Super prime rental practices such as offering to pay an entire year’s rent up front are becoming increasingly common for bog-standard homes in Highbury or Clapham.

Not got £50,000 or more in ready money? Bad luck.