The 10 Best Rental Websites in London

Written by Ashleigh Williams Reviewed by Dave Sayce

5th Jan 2023 (Last updated on 14th Mar 2024) 10 minute read

1. Zoopla

Zoopla is one of the best rental websites in the UK and London. It provides users with a detailed guide of everything they need to find a rental property in London. The website is full of rental guides and advice to help you find your next home. There is also a downloadable app to use.

Zoopla allows you to search specific locations for your perfect home. You can select the number of bedrooms you need and the maximum rent you want to pay.

Zoopla can send property alerts if a property matching your requirements is placed on the market. This is useful due to the popularity of the London rental market. It provides users with a better chance of securing a property.

2. Rightmove

Rightmove is a popular competitor of Zoopla, and it's one of the UK's largest property portals.

The Rightmove website is easy to navigate. It allows you to search for properties to rent in your desired area of London. As London is a huge city, this is a great feature.

The search tools allow you to choose the number of bedrooms you need, along with your housing preferences. There is also a house price section allowing you to search within your price range.

Rightmove has an app you can download. It contains up-to-date rental information and also provides information on each property. This includes its location, distance from schools, transport options and whether a flat has a private entrance.

The website contains a details request section and the agent's contact details to arrange viewings. The key features section allows you to have fast access to the benefits of a property.

Our Zoopla or Rightmove article discusses which is the best website in more detail.

3. On the Market

On the Market is excellent for finding a London rental in your preferred location. Its search filters are specific and help to speed up your renting process. The website has a “help me choose” section, allowing users to find their ideal place to rent in the capital. You can choose housing preferences, budget and the number of bedrooms you need.

What makes On the Market unique is that it allows you to build a wishlist for your ideal home. You can choose 5 features you’d like the property to have, such as being a pet-friendly property or having a garden. In addition, you can filter out properties that you're not interested in, such as shared or student accommodation.

You can look at similar properties for each listing, helping you to narrow down your searches. On the Market clearly state when a property is a house share. This is useful if you’re looking for potential flatmates. As the rental market in London is so sought after, many people choose to house share.

4. Ideal Flatmate

If you’re looking to pay less rent, Ideal Flatmate is one of the best property websites to use. It allows you to find the perfect flatmate or ideal lodger.

You can list a room, and find a rental property or flatmate depending on your needs. Whether you're looking for flats or house shares, you can filter by the number of rooms in a property.

Ideal Flatmate carries out a matching test to find you the most compatible flatmate. Once connected you can message the person to find out more about them.

Ideal Flatmate is useful if it’s important for you to befriend and get to know the people you’re living with.

When looking for flatmates, you can select the age, gender and whether you want to live with students or professionals. You can also select preferences such as a vegan household.

5. OpenRent

OpenRent is a website aimed at connecting landlords to tenants. It aims to ensure that renting is safe and affordable.

Tenants can find the most suitable property to rent in the city centre or in one specific London district. There is an option to search for properties accepting pets and OpenRent provides a property's images and details.

This website is great when looking for a rental property in London as you can meet the landlord and visit the property. OpenRent offers support and walks tenants through the rental process. This is useful if you’re new to renting and have an extensive list of questions you may want to ask.

6. Foxtons

Foxtons is a well-known London estate agency meaning they specialise in London properties. They know each area well and are knowledgeable. If you're looking for London apartments in Crystal Palace, Notting Hill or Camden Town, for example, they are the best website to use. Foxton sets a high standard for advertising properties in the area.

Foxtons allows you to search for rentals in each area of London such as west, north and south. You don't have to look at London flats or houses in unwanted locations.

Foxtons cover everything important you need to know, such as a guide to renting and your rights to rent as a tenant. They also have area guides which include places to eat and drink in the area.

The website allows you to filter whether you want a short or long let. Foxtons can send alerts when a suitable property becomes available in London.

7. SpareRoom

For those specifically looking for house shares, SpareRoom is the best website to use. You can search for rooms to rent and for buddy ups too depending on your needs and preferences.

SpareRoom allows you to choose the length of the tenancy in addition to when you’re looking to move in. This narrows down your options.

There are many expensive areas in London, and SpareRoom allows you to save money through house shares. You can find cheapest rent through the website.

The website is easy to navigate. Each advertisement has a detailed property explanation and is safe and moderated. You can use the travel time search option to work out the commute time. SpareRoom also allows you to choose the travel zone and location you want the property to be near.

You can also filter properties by tube lines to make travelling easier. This is great when looking at rental websites for London.

8. PrimeLocation

PrimeLocation is part of Zoopla, and focuses on helping users to find their dream homes. It includes some of London's premium listings on the luxury rental market. It also shows more affordable rental options.

The site will filter searches by price, property type and the number of bedrooms. You can also filter by furniture, specific keywords and when the rental property was listed.

PrimeLocation displays the number of properties to rent in London and the average rental cost per week. This is a useful way to determine whether a property is reasonably priced.

Many London estate agents use PrimeLocation. All the listings are on one website, making your rental search simpler. It’s a reputable website to find and secure rental properties.

9. Find a Hood

Find a Hood is a useful website to use when looking for properties in London. Whether you’re looking for a spare room to rent or an entire house it helps you to find the ideal property. It’s particularly good to use if you’re moving to London for the first time and are unsure of the areas.

Find a Hood is more specific in its search options in comparison to sites like Zoopla and Rightmove. It allows you to describe what your ideal neighbourhood would be based on your preferences to help you find the perfect place.

There are sliders from 1-10 for each category for you to select what’s most important to you in a house, housemates and location. The options include crime rates, occupation, and schools. There’s also a section to include your details such as age, religion and income. This helps you to find the best areas in London for you.

10. GumTree

When moving to London, you can choose to either rent a furnished or unfurnished property.

If you’re purchasing an unfurnished property, it can be expensive to buy all the furniture. GumTree is a great website to use if you want to buy furniture at a good price.

GumTree displays listings of items in your local area. You can sell and buy items easily which is useful when moving into a new flat.

You can also search for rentals using the site. Many private landlords use GumTree and you can find listings that may not be available on other sites.

What is the Best Rental Website in London?

The best renting websites in the UK and London are Zoopla and Rightmove. While there are other fantastic apps listed in this article, the vast majority of estate agents will use these two sites.

They are easy to use and have downloadable apps to help you move home. They tend to be the best sites to find a rental because they’re updated often. The websites allow you to contact the estate agents directly to express your interest in a property.

How Much Does it Cost to Rent in London?

According to our research, here are the average rental costs for living in London:

Monthly Rent

The median monthly rent in London is £1,400. This is almost double the average rental costs for the rest of the UK. As London is so sought after, prices are increasing on a yearly basis.

The cheapest areas to rent in London include Croydon and Havering. Bexley is currently the cheapest area to live in. The median rent in this area is £1,587 PCM.

If you want to find the best rent in London, the areas included in this article are the best to consider.

Moving to Bromley costs £1,279 PCM on average. Moving to Greenwich has an average rental cost of £1,133 PCM in Thamesmead.

Deposit

To get a rental in London, you will need to secure the property with a deposit. According to Citizen’s Advice, a tenancy deposit will cost around 4-5 weeks of rent. Based on the medium monthly rent for London, this would be around £1,750 for 5 weeks.

Removal Costs

The average removal cost for London is £1,547, which is £610 more than the national average. This is why finding cheap removals in London is so important to many people.

In addition to this, you will need to take into consideration any extra services you may need, such as packing and storage. There are many great movers and packers in London to choose from that can assist you with this process.

At Compare My Move, we can help you to save money on your move to London by connecting you to our trusted and verified partners.

Additional Costs

You will also need to consider other costs when moving to London, such as:

• Utility Bills
• Internet contract
• Council Tax
• Ground rent (when renting a flat)

These costs will vary depending on the area of London you’re choosing to live in.