Welcome back to What I Rent, our weekly series that takes a look at the world of renting.
Last time around, we were in Melrose, Massachusetts, where couple Marissa and Zach pay $1,800 a month to rent a one-bedroom apartment.
This week, we’re in Oxford, with Liz, 27, who works in digital communications, and Stephen, 34, a film producer and director for an independent media company.
Liz is originally from Edinburgh, but moved to Oxford four years ago for a job. It was here that she met Stephen through mutual friends, and now they live together, renting a two-bedroom house.
What chatted with the couple about what they rent.
Hey, Liz and Stephen! How much do you pay to live here?
We pay £1,250 in rent, £200 in council tax and probably just over £200 for all other bills now that everything has increased.
And what do you get for what you pay?
We have two bedrooms – although one is set up as a home office with sofa bed – and two bathrooms. Plus a living room, separate dining room and kitchen.
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We also have a big garden, which has been such a blessing!
Do you feel like you have a good deal?
We do have a good deal for the city (we pay a pretty average rate for a two bed in Oxford but with the second bathroom and big garden it’s definitely better than previous flats) and probably a good deal for the south of the country in general.
However, renting in general in this country is just so expensive and with all the recent cost of living increases it can be a bit daunting to see money disappear.
True that. So, talk to us about the house’s location. What do you think of it?
We’re based in East Oxford, about 30 minutes away from the dreaming spires of the university and city centre.
We like the area, because it’s further out it’s quiet and residential with a fabulous local pub – The Marsh Harrier – but we can be in the city centre really easily, are one main public transport routes but also an easy drive to big supermarkets on the edge of the city.
We’re really close to Cowley Road, a smorgasbord of great eateries, local shops and great pubs!
How did you find the property?
This was actually only the second property we looked at when we started house hunting and just loved it straight away!
Stephen had contacted a local estate agent and gave them our criteria. They then called us about 10 minutes before the viewing and, by some miracle, we managed to get dressed, in the car and to the viewing on time. I’m so glad we made it.
The letting agent was really helpful and a great go-between until we moved in. Now we deal directly with our landlord, who is really lovely.
How have you made this place feel like home?
The house was unfurnished when we moved in, so we spent the first couple of months (and last couple of months in our last places) scouring Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, eBay, local charity shops and antiques shops finding vintage or second hand furniture that we then restored or upcycled it to make this our dream home.
We also went round TK Maxx and Ikea, and spent lots of time on Iamfy and Wayfair online, finding extra pieces to finish the house off.
Liz loves mid-century modern styling and Stephen is into more industrial pieces so we meticulously found, made and gave lots of love to most of the furniture in our house.
We were on quite a budget to furnish the entire place, but thankfully (although we didn’t feel it at the time) a winter lockdown gave us plenty of time to sand, stain, paint and polish!
I think we only bought about four brand new major items of furniture and everything else is vintage, which has really helped us make the place a home.
We’re really pleased with the result and some of the pieces are really special to us, like the vintage ‘bar’ in the dining room!
We also have lots of plants and other decorative bits that we like to use to make the place really feel like ours. Our style won’t be to everyone’s taste but we love our bright and quirky home!
Have you found it difficult to decorate when renting? Is your landlord happy with you doing bits?
We’ve not been able to decorate with paint or paper and there are definitely a few things I’d change if we could because some bits are quite dated (but not in a good way), however, our landlord is okay with us hanging pictures, posters and mirrors… we’re big fans of Command Strips!
We’ve collected quite an impressive, if somewhere eclectic, collection of art, prints and mirrors from different exhibitions, places and galleries and these have made the neutral walls more us.
We also find that rugs, throws and hundreds of cushions (I think we may be addicted, there’s another load packed away in a cupboard) help to add personality but are temporary and can be changed and moved as we move on.
Do you feel like you have enough space?
Yes, we do have a lot of space for the two of us. Liz works from home most of the week so it’s been really good to have a second room so to use as a study and be able to close the door on at the end of the work day.
We’re lucky to have built in wardrobes, an airing cupboard and boiler cupboard plus a massive shed at the end of the garden to store any extra junk!
Liz could always do with more wardrobe space however, as she collects vintage clothing and rotates it to wear by season, so there are always spare clothes in suitcases under the bed, which Stephen really dislikes.
Are there any problems with the home you have to deal with?
Nothing serious and whenever we have had any issues our landlord has been really wonderful and fixed them quickly.
Do you have plans to move again?
Not in the immediate future but we are trying to think ahead and starting plans to buy our own place.
And do you want to own a place some day or are you happy to rent?
Yes, we’d love to own our own place and are weighing up options about how it could be possible!
We’ve both been renting for a long time and, although we love where we are now and have a very good landlord, for our longterm security and potential future family plans owning our own home would be much better.
Let’s take a look around…
What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am.
Check back next week to have another nose around a rented property.
How to get involved in What I Rent
What I Rent is Metro.co.uk’s weekly series that takes you inside the places people are renting, to give us all a better sense of what’s normal and how much we should be paying.
If you fancy taking part, please email [email protected]. You’ll need to take pictures of your kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom, plus a few photos of you in your bedroom or living area.
Make sure you get permission from your housemates! You’ll also need to be okay with sharing how much you’re paying for rent, as that’s pretty important.
We’re not just after the prettiest places out there, by the way. We want the reality of renting, so if you’re currently renting a place you hate, we’d love to see that too (and sympathise greatly!).
This article contains placements with affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on purchases made through one of these links on these placements.
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