Cramped, crusty and £600 over the asking price: The reality of renting a flat in London

People may not care much for London and its citizens – fairly or unfairly – but the country can only thrive if the city is thriving as well, writes Marie Le Conte

It is an emergency, but it is being treated as a fact of life (Getty)

Three months ago, I moved into a nice flat. The rent is reasonable, I have enough storage space for all my possessions, it has a bath, a little balcony, and a living room large enough that I can have friends over for drinks. It has turned me into an anxious wreck.

At first, I thought there was something obviously wrong with it that I had missed. Maybe my neighbour was an axe murderer yet to be caught; maybe the building was about to be demolished. After a few weeks, I realised I was being stupid. The flat was just that – nice.

Instead, I decided to panic about my letting agents. Was I about to have to pay an extortionate service charge? Was I going to get kicked out after six months, as if it’d all been a prank? I reread the contract three times, line by line, to make sure I’d not missed anything.