Places For Teachers To Stay In London

B&Bs, Hostels and Hotels

Accommodation London

Short term and long term accommodation in London

London B&B
Budget BandB booking agency.

London Hotels
An independent and free-of-charge reservation service. All the hotels have been inspected, and classed into four broad bands depending on their facilities and tariffs.

Loot
Updated daily, this is the online version of London’s free ads paper. A good place to look for rented/shared accommodation, as well as all sorts of bargains. Has a quick navigation search facility.

Net Lettings

More of a flat search, but there is a section for hostels.

Property Broker
An online version of the property magazine. Allows you to search a huge database of homes for sale in London, using a number of different criteria, such as size or price.

Studio 92
Budget accommodation guide for London!

The Accommodation Directory
A site listing rental property, hotels and agents throughout London.

Up my Street
All sorts of interesting facts and figures about residential areas in England – specifically London – such as council tax, rates, etc. Search by area using a map.

Choosing A Location

Transport: Availability of transport to and from your school, workplace or places to socialise with friends. Being near to a transport route can be convenient and could be safer. Note that buses may not run in the evenings or late at night in some areas.

Social life: You may want to live near where your friends live

Green areas: You can find street maps and aerial photographs from: http://www.streetmap.co.uk or: http://www.multimap.com

Check if there are local facilities you need. You can use the Find My Nearest tool at http://www.upmystreet.com (based on the Thomson directories), or you can search Yellow Pages online at http://www.yell.com

For a detailed guide about how to find accommodation in London, see: Life/Accommodation/London.

London is a big city and you can go to zones 3, 4-6. But remember the further you live, the more the cost of the transport ticket will be (see our section London Transport for more information; refer also to the London Transport Website). Don’t be too confident in public transport, as especially compared to other cities, there are often problems: signal failures, escalators repairs, station overcrowded, delay trains every day.

Then you will be able to decide where you want to live. West London is generally more expensive than east, south and north. Hampstead with its nice, pleasant, peaceful areas, Little Venice, Notting Hill with the famous Portobello market, Kensington and Chelsea with the proximity of Hyde Park (well-known as the most expensive area, a lot of embassies are there) are among the highest prices. In contrast, South of the River (that’s how English people call the left bank) is cheaper. But you can also find expensive area such as Wimbledon there. Clapham is nice but can vary depending upon if you are at Clapham Common or South Clapham. Further, you can take the train at London Bridge and stay near more popular areas such as Bexley or Lewisham.

Letting Agents

London is bursting with properties to rent – the trick is finding the right one that is available at the right time!  Flat hunters generally find flats in two ways: 

Directly through the landlord or

using an agency as an intermediary.

Finding a flat directly through the landlord involves answering advertisements in newspapers, property websites and classified publications, like Gumtree (The Gum Tree) or Loot (The Loot). 

Prepare a list of questions to ask on the phone to get a general idea of the terms of the lease and the condition of the flat.  There is no sense wasting your own time and the landlord’s time to view a property that doesn’t meet your specifications.  When you arrange to view the flat it is a good idea to have a friend go with you.  A second opinion is always worthwhile, and going in pairs or groups is also safer.  (After all, you are entering the property of someone you’ve never met before). 

Going directly through the landlord offers some advantages, most notably the fees you save that would normally be paid to an agency.  While most landlords are trustworthy and available to help at all times, occasionally tenants run into problems with the property owner.  In these instances signing a lease directly with the landlord means there is no intermediary to help sort out any issues between tenant and landlord.  Although these occasions are rare, the Citizens Advice Bureau (www.citizensadvice.org.uk) offers free advice in situations where the tenant–landlord relationship has gone sour.   

Estate agents or letting agencies have listings of properties to let.  One advantage of using an agency is that you may be less likely to have problems with the landlord, and there should be a proper tenancy agreement in place. 

Registering with an agency means providing basic details such as how many bedrooms you need, your budget, where you’d like to be and any other specifications you have such as an ‘eat in kitchen’, or a garden.  Agencies will alert you whenever a property comes on the market that suits your requirements and will organise to show you around the flat. 

Agencies certainly make flat finding much easier, but their services come at a price… beware companies like Foxtons who charge exorbitant fees for minor services or changes to your lease.  Many agencies have very reasonable finders fees that won’t break the bank and using their services will certainly save you time and aggravation, so it’s worth spending the money in the end.  Be sure to understand the agency’s fees, terms and conditions before you agree to a property through them.  Bear in mind that an estate agent is never allowed to charge you for registering your details with them or for viewing flats through them.  You may choose to use an agency which is a member of NALS:  http://www.nalscheme.co.uk. 

Finding an agency in any area of London is easy.  Apart from their listings on the internet, you can’t help but stumble upon a selection of letting agencies on any high street in London!