General Flat Rental Question - London
 

Spent some time over at TripAdvisor, where everyone seemed highly skeptical of Plum Guide, airbnb, everything almost.
Have also been hearing a lot about airbnb cancellations. Have had none of these problems in US.

Is there a generally-agreed upon letting company I can look into? Right now looking into London Perfect, London Agent and A Place Like Home.

If I rent airbnb with a "Superhost" (that isn't a management company) is that a plus?

I may be overthinking this, but man, renting London seems like it could be, as you say, "dodgy!"

Anyone have experience with Plum Guide?

thx much.
Dan

I've never even looked at Plum Guide. We've used Airbnb and HomeAway to rent apartments in Paris, Amsterdam, and we have rooms rented in York, Bath, and a flat in London for our upcoming vacation. The most important thing to do is research. Where is the apartment/room? Look for it on Google map and do a virtual "walk" through the neighborhood. We only rent from people with lots of positive feedback and only pay directly to Airbnb or Home Away, no wiring money or direct cash payments. We haven't had any significant issues.

Have had no problems in US. Should be fine. Thanks. Looking in Fitzrovia, Kensington, Covent Garden and Notting Hill.

There are 2 options; rent through a platform like Airbnb, Homeaway, Plumguide, where owners post their own properties. These properties are sometimes run by a managing agent, but you rent directly from the owner of the property.
Or go to a full-service agency, where you have no contact with the propery owner and everything is run by the agency. Onefinestay is an example of this.
If your Airbnb rental is cancelled last minute, you will get your money back but will have to look for another place to stay. If your Onefinestay rental is unavailable last minute, Onefinestay will relocate you to an alternative flat or house.
Obviously you will pay more for this service.

I haven't heard of huge problems with Airbnb, Homeaway, though. It's not at all dodgy, unless you deal directly with the owner and wire him your money - which will not happen if you follow the rules of the lettings platform.

If anyone here is familiar with New York City, and understands that we'd love to stay in an area of London akin to say the Upper East or West Side, Brooklyn Heights, or the West Village, what would those neighborhoods be? Thank you!

We rented a small but lovely apartment from London Perfect at Queen's Gate. That ought to suit you. We rented a not lovely apartment in Belgravia that was in a VERY upscale area. That one was from AirBnB.

I expect the problems people are referring to on TA are that in some locales, such short term rentals are illegal unless they have a registration number with the local authorities. This is true, for instance, in Paris. In those cases, rentals (from any agency) without a registration number are illegal and may be subject to cancellation on short notice.

London doesn't (yet?) have the same controls as Paris but there are the same concerns developing, as also in Amsterdam, Berlin and I believe Barcelona, about what Airbnb and holiday rentals are doing to the local housing market.

In London, there can also be issues to do with the legal relationship between whoever is advertising the rental and the ultimate owners/managers of apartment buildings: commonly, leases may specify that an apartment, or part of it, can't be sublet without the owners' permission, and/or that it can't be used as a business (as short-term holiday rentals would be). IF someone is chancing their arm in this way, a property might suddenly not be available.

Then there are outright frauds where the property doesn't even exist.

The old rule of caveat emptor applies.

You could try the Citadines chain, they are apartments but not individually owned so much less chance of something going wrong. We are renting an apartment later this year through Studios 2 Let, they have two properties in the Bloomsbury/Fitzrovia area of London.

Welcome to Studios 2 Let Serviced Apartments

You absolutely need to do your research before booking and paying. Check the full address on Google maps, check reviews etc. Years ago I spent a lot of time researching and booked an apartment in London,then three weeks before Christmas the agency told me the apartment was no longer available. They found us something else which we were not happy with, which resulted in a move on Christmas Eve to yet another place. Not a great situation, I did wonder if the apartment owners had a better offer.

Kay

Hi Dan - I would say Notting Hill or South Kensington, but get the exact map location. Some parts of Notting HIll and Kensington are better than others.
You want to be near a tube station. If you're near Notting Hill Gate - that can be Notting Hill or Kensington - you are in a residential area with plenty of restaurants and food shops, but with easy access to the rest of London through the Central Line.
Somewhere near South Kensington Station is also good; upmarket residential with good connections, and walking distance to some of the main museums.
Bloomsbury is good too, or the area that is called 'Fitzrovia'; again a mix of residential with lots of restaurants and good connections - though not as green and leafy as Kensington or Notting Hill.
If you want somewhere more hip and happening, with plenty of bars and clubs, look at Spitalfields/Shoreditch, though this is further away from some of the main tourist sites in London.

What is your budget for a flat?

Yes, thanks I am looking at all those areas. Fodors will not let me send a link here but I did find one promising one on Cleveland St in Fitzrovia labeled "Fitzrovia Bloomsbury 2BR +Terrace" on Airbnb.

Looking into letting companies, but some require 5 day minimums.

Any idea about the Holland Park area near Royal Crescent Gardens?

I would like to stay under 275 pounds per night if possible.

Subletting in London via Airbnb and similar websites is not without restrictions. Many, if not most, flats in central London are leaseholds.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...-repercussions

Cleveland Street is a central location, not so attractive though. Check what part of the street it is: close to Euston Road would be very busy.
Holland Park is upmarket residential, with some good local restaurants, close to the Westfield shopping centre. Not as central as Fitzrovia, but good transport link on the Central Line.
Look at a streetview for both areas; they are totally different.
If it's in the summer, I would rather be in leafy Holland Park. If you've never been to London before, you may prefer a more central location.

Most flats are leaseholds, but many also have a share of the freehold. It's a complicated system. You could have a 999 year leasehold.
It could be a problem in areas that have a powerful freeholder, such as the Grosvenor Estate in Belgravia and Mayfair.

We have a leasehold and no one on our large complex is allowed to do short term rentals per our lease agreement. I fully support this!

I'm in the same sort of situation as jamikins. Recently the management sent round a note about a few residents advertising on AirBnB, and I suspect most were in fact already sub-tenants of a leaseholder (who would have met all the requirements for a standard long-term renting arrangement) - and that said sub-tenants are with us no more.

Look at Ivy Lettings. Upscale apartments and good service.

Also had very positive experience with Ivy Lettings

We had an excellent experience renting from London Perfect . Our apartment in Chelsea was in a perfect location and very well appointed.

Thank you all. Ivy Lettings is a 1 week minimum, sadly, and we are splitting up the week with Paris.

Per a friend's advice, looking in Covent Garden area, finding some good ones on Home Away

DC