In 2025, Robert and his ex-partner, who are both freelancers, were forced to pay six months’ rent upfront (£11,100) and to agree to a three per cent rent rise after a year. In 2023, at their previous rental, they paid a year’s rent in advance — about £20,000 — and then the same to renew the tenancy. “I had to make that decision instantly, and it’s a lot of money,” he says. “I’d spent that first year building back up what I’d spent, and then it all came back out again and I was back to square one.”