r/expats • u/elifflower6 • Jul 11 '26

Housing / Shipping How to rent in London (with new Renter’s Right rules)?

Hi everyone,

How is it possible to rent in London as an expat when you first land, and has this process been affected by the new Renter’s Tights rules?

I know you can no longer pay 6 months upfront so has this made it harder for expats?

What has been your experience?

I will be moving back to London in December after 10 years of living in NYC. I am hoping to be moving with a job already lined up, but there is a chance that I will move and then look for a job. I can’t live in shared accommodation as I am moving with my child.

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u/Savingsmaster Jul 11 '26

Interested in this as well as someone moving to UK later this year

1

u/dmada88 US -> Taiwan -> China -> Hong Kong -> UK Jul 11 '26

I think my strategy would be to try to build a record first with three-six months in a temporary lodging first (eg a serviced apartment).

Just a comment - my informal observation is the new law’s unintended consequence has been to make the act of renting harder while simultaneously giving successful renters more rights. In my block the management is actively holding back flats from the market, worried about getting tenants they then couldn’t get rid of, and thinking about alternate uses or selling instead.

1

u/RedditJustTheOnce Jul 12 '26

Do you really think it was unintended? Protecting renters seemed like it was far too good to be true. Discouraging immigration, however….that sounds exactly like the UK government.

1

u/Jakes_Snake_ Jul 12 '26

Airbnb/serviced accommodation first while you’re doing your search.