When we started looking for a home in London, we thought renting would be the easy part. We’d rented before. We spoke the language. How different could it be?
Very, it turns out. Within the first week of searching from Canada, we’d met “pcm”, a “box room”, a “holding deposit” and a council tax band, and we were Googling half the words in every listing. So here’s the glossary we wish someone had handed us, for anyone moving to London from North America or further afield.
Reading the listing
- pcm and pw. Rent is usually shown “per calendar month” (pcm). Some listings show it “per week” (pw), which looks temptingly cheap until you multiply by 52 and divide by 12.
- Double, single and box room. A “double bedroom” fits a double bed. A “single” fits a single bed. A “box room” fits… a box, or a very small desk. Bedroom counts can flatter a flat, so always check the floorplan.
- Reception room. A living room. A “two-bed, one-reception” flat has two bedrooms and a lounge.
- Square feet (if you’re lucky). Many listings don’t give a size at all. Look for the floorplan; it’s the most honest thing in the listing.
- Lower ground floor and garden flat. Lower ground usually means partly below street level. Garden flats are often on the lower ground, with the garden as the reward.
- Mansion block, conversion, maisonette. A mansion block is a purpose-built Victorian or Edwardian apartment building. A conversion is a house split into flats. A maisonette is a flat over two floors with its own front door.
- Furnished, part-furnished, unfurnished. These vary more than you’d think. “Unfurnished” often still includes the fridge, oven and washing machine (“white goods”), but not always. Ask.
- Let agreed and under offer. Someone else got there first. In a busy month, homes can be let agreed within days of going online.
Money words
- Holding deposit. A payment to take a home off the market while your references are checked. By law it’s capped at one week’s rent, and it should normally go towards your first month or your deposit. Some agents called this a “reservation fee”, which threw us at first.
- Security deposit. Capped at five weeks’ rent (six if the annual rent is £50,000 or more), and it must be protected in a government-approved deposit scheme. You should receive details of the scheme within 30 days.
- Rent in advance. No UK credit history used to mean being asked for six or even twelve months’ rent up front. Since 1 May 2026, under the Renters’ Rights Act, landlords can’t demand rent before the tenancy agreement is signed, and the amount due before you move in is limited to one month’s rent.
- Asking rent. Also new from May 2026: a home must be advertised at a stated rent, and landlords and agents can’t invite or accept offers above it. Bidding wars on rent are banned.
- Council tax. A local tax for services like bin collections, usually paid by the tenant, not the landlord. It depends on the property’s band and the borough. (Wandsworth’s is famously among the lowest in the country, which is a nice surprise.)
- Bills included? Usually not. Expect to set up gas, electricity, water and broadband yourself, and possibly a TV licence (see below).
- TV licence. Yes, really: in the UK you need a licence to watch TV. It pays for the BBC, which is why there are no adverts on BBC channels. You need one if anyone in your home watches or records live TV as it’s broadcast, on any channel and on any device (TV, laptop or phone), or uses BBC iPlayer. If you only stream Netflix, Disney+ or other on-demand services and never watch live TV or iPlayer, you don’t need one. It’s one licence per household, costs just under £200 a year, and can be paid monthly. If your home doesn’t have one, expect official-looking letters addressed to “The Legal Occupier”. If you don’t need a licence, you can tell TV Licensing online and the letters stop.
The paperwork
- Referencing. Credit, employment and previous-landlord checks. With no UK credit file, bring an employment contract or offer letter, recent payslips, bank statements and, if you have one, a reference from your previous landlord abroad.
- Right to Rent. Every adult must prove they’re allowed to rent in England. Many visa holders do this online with a “share code” from the government website.
- Guarantor. Someone who agrees to pay if you can’t. Most need to be UK-based homeowners, which is tricky for new arrivals. Guarantor companies offer an alternative for a fee.
- Periodic tenancy. Under the new rules, most tenancies run month to month with no fixed end date. You can leave with two months’ notice, and landlords can only end a tenancy for specific legal reasons.
- Inventory, check-in and check-out. A detailed record of the home’s condition when you move in. Read it carefully, take your own photos and flag anything missing. It’s what protects your deposit.
- EPC. The Energy Performance Certificate, rated A to G. It’s a useful clue to how warm (and how expensive to heat) a home will be.
Things that surprised us inside the homes
- No dryer. Often a washer-dryer in the kitchen, or a clothes horse and patience.
- No air conditioning. Rarely needed. On the few hot weeks of the year, you’ll wish it wasn’t.
- Combi boilers and immersion heaters. A combi heats water on demand. An immersion heater means switching the hot water on and waiting.
- Separate hot and cold taps. Still a thing in older homes.
Our advice if you’re moving here
- Get your documents ready before you start viewing: passports, visa or share code, job offer, payslips, bank statements.
- Ask for a video tour if you’re still abroad. A good agent will say yes.
- Read the floorplan before the photos.
- Ask what council tax band the home is in, and roughly what the bills come to.
- Know your rights: no rental bidding, no rent demanded before signing, holding deposits capped at one week.
We wrote this because we lived it: a family of five, relocating from Canada, decoding London lettings from 4,000 miles away. If you’re moving to south-west London and want a hand, get in touch. We answer every message the same day, wherever you are in the world.
Not sure which neighbourhood is you? Take our Find Your Patch quiz. And if you’re a landlord, read our companion piece: 5 things landlords should understand about expat renters.