I rented for 10 months without missing a single payment. Then I received a call

I was enjoying one of those wonderfully lazy days between Christmas and New Year when a voice message from my then-landlord came out of the blue, turning my life upside down.

‘You’ve got five days to move out of the flat – we’re all being evicted,’ he informed me during a ten-minute message that set my heart pounding.

I couldn’t make sense of it. I had been renting a room in a three-bedroom flat in east London for the past ten months and hadn’t missed a single payment.

As an organised person, I’ve never missed a payment on anything. I have a perfect credit score and live a law-abiding life. How was I, a professional and trustworthy individual, in this position?

What I didn’t know at the time was that I’d fallen for a new rental market scam. Worst of all, I later found out I’d been living with my scammer – and even sharing my dinners with him.

I was only supposed to live in the flat for one month at first, it was a stop gap. I had just bought my first home, a new-build flat in east London, but it wasn’t quite ready to move into yet.

So last Feburary I moved out of my previous flat-share and found a room to rent on Airbnb for one month near my new home, just until I could get the keys.

Ten months later, with the move-in now scheduled for March 2026 because of issues with the heating and hot water system, I had made a home out of my very un-homely Airbnb living situation.

The Airbnb was a smart three-bedroom apartment in a block near London City Airport.

All three rooms were up for rent. There was a large en-suite master bedroom listed at £2,700 per month, a smaller double room for £1,700 and a single room for £1,500. There was a communal living space, main bathroom and balcony, all of which were clean, modern and much more appealing than some of the tired bedsits in the same area. It also came with free parking.

Properties listed on Airbnb tend to cost more to rent at an average of £2,000 per month because they are typically designed for short-term stays. I knew I would have to pay more as I couldn’t commit to a longer-term contract.

It was more expensive than I really wanted to pay – my previous flat cost me £1,000 a month – but it was only for one month. I splurged and booked the double room.

Upon arrival I met my host, who we’ll call Felix. He was tall, in his 20s and seemed professional. I also met my temporary flat mate, another young man, Adam, who was equally as tall, but a lot more smiley.

Adam said he’d just returned from travelling and was ‘Airbnb-ing’ until he figured out where he wanted to live on a more permanent basis.

Felix took the time to show me around, clear out some cupboard space and help me bring in my bags.

After unloading my car, I asked him to let me into the underground car park.

‘Oh, it’s free parking outside,’ he said. But it was clearly not free parking.

Outside the flat, the roads were painted with double yellows and in the lay-by where my car sat there were clear signposts stating ‘loading only, 20 minutes maximum’.

After ten minutes of back and forth with the host, I decided to trust my gut and park at the nearest, safest and reasonably priced multi-storey car park that would allow me to come and go throughout the week. It was in Stratford, 20 minutes away, and cost £9.50 a day.

Later that night, Felix was still in the flat and it was only then that I realised he lived there with us. Airbnb hosts typically disclose this when it’s the case – Felix had not. He was staying in the single room, while Adam had the master.

As a young woman, living with two men wasn’t the ideal situation but, upon initial impressions, I didn’t feel like I had anything to worry about. In any case, there were locks on the bedroom doors.

The next morning, as I headed to work, I passed a row of cars littered with yellow parking fines. Thankfully I hadn’t trusted what Felix had said.

Having confirmed I needed parking prior to my visit and it being clearly advertised on the Airbnb listing, I was disappointed to be forking out an additional £300 that month to park my car nowhere near where I was staying.

I spent the next few weeks scanning websites and local Facebook groups for bays to rent. Anyone lives in London with a car will know the struggle.

I managed to find a man with an available bay in the underground car park of my building, which cost £150 a month. And it was a good job I did, because the day after I spoke to him I…