Fenella handed back the keys to her two-bedroom flat in Leeds, left it cleaned throughout, and waited for her £1,150 deposit. Two weeks later, an email landed: £840 in deductions,…

You have just been offered a job in Leeds, or a university place, and now comes the question that matters most: what will renting here actually cost you, month after…

Alden is a freelance graphic designer who earns good money — better, in most months, than in his old salaried job. Yet his first three rental applications were turned down.…

Rowena has rented the same two-bedroom flat in Sheffield for four years. Her rent is £950 a month; she has £20,000 saved, and she earns £38,000 a year. Every time…

Wren rents a terraced house in Leeds, parks on its driveway, and has just ordered her electric car. The dealer asks a question she cannot answer: "Can you charge at…

Tobias had spent three weekends scrolling through listings before he found it: a one-bedroom flat near the Jewellery Quarter, ten minutes' walk from his new job, advertised at £1,050 a…

Selma had lived in Leeds for three years when her employer offered her a transfer to Manchester. The salary was the same and the job was the same, so the…

Derek is 27, rents a one-bedroom flat in Manchester for £850 a month, and has wanted to buy a home for three years. Every time he checks his savings, the…

Josie had lived in her Leeds flat for eighteen months when black spots appeared above the skirting board. She wiped the mould away, but it came back within a week.…

Ivo had rented a one-bed flat in Bristol for two years when his landlord gave him notice to leave. He liked the flat, but he wanted a spare room for…