Renting in Clapham - what's it like?

TheGame7

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lynzpower

Its my view that if you live in 5 mins walk of clapham south, or clapham common then youll be OK.

5 mins walk of clapham north is significantly more dodgy. I woudlnt choose to spend the money you are spending near clapham north tbh.

Cornball

I rented in Clapham 2 yrs ago so I may be a bit out of date and hopefully someone with a bit more current knowledge will pop in and assist. I'll give ya my 2 cents anyway though.

I rented an ex-council "maisonette" that was a 2 min walk from Clapham Common Station. 2 double bedrooms and 1 tiny single for £1200 month plus bills. We moved out when the landlady (ex-council tenant) sold it for £230k!

Pros:
Good selection of Pubs and bars.
Within walking distance of Clapham Junction and all it's amenities.
Clapham Common.
Lots of young people.
Close enough to Brixton to go for a drink but far enough to not be in Brixton
Great travel links (Clapham Junction, loads of buses inc. direct to Camden).

Cons
Tiny flat for a lot of money. And flats go fast.
Very loud (we were across from The White House club).
The Northern Line. Absolute !!!!. I don't know if it's improved any but I still have nightmares and vowed never to live anywhere dependant on it.
Didn't feel safe as a woman to walk around at night.
I always found Clapham dirty but maybe it has improved.
My friend who lived over by Clapham Junction had her flat broken into 4 times! We never did but she said it was common.

I enjoyed living there at the time because I all I wanted was to go out and have a good time. If that's what you are after (and you can afford it) then I think you'd be well suited. I would also concur about Clapham South being the better choice. Check out Gumtree for prices.

Doozergirl

The North side of Cavendish Road is Lambeth. The South side is indeed cheaper and Wandsworth.

Agree that Clapham South is best. The 'nightingale triangle' is very villagey, Abbeville Road is nice as well but stay South of it because it starts turning into Brixton at that end. Lots of Roads off Balham Hill are nice - look at the SW12 postcode which is officially Balham but has the best bits of Clapham, IMO. Balham is good as well - I think I'd prefer Balham to Clapham North or Clapham High Street.

chewmylegoff

TheGame7 wrote: »

Hi,

I am soon to be moving to London and am considering renting in Clapham.

I have heard that some areas of Clapham are great, i.e. up and coming and full of young professionals. However, I have also heard that other parts should be avoided. Would that be correct?

i have lived in clapham on and off for the past 5 years. my main reason for living here is most of my friends in london live in the area. clapham's main problem is that, being in lambeth, it has a large amount of council housing, which is quite frankly full of scumbags. as long as you don't live in one of the estates or right next to it you should be ok. most of the streets are just victorian housing.

personally i live just off ferndale road between clapham north and brixton. it's convenient for transport but i don't like it much, mainly because there is a hugely annoying church right opposite my house. the bars on the highstreet are ok, i used to love it, but i'm starting to get really bored of it - everywhere is too busy for my liking. not much trouble though, just a bit crap. it's a bit downmarket as well. pubs on the side streets are better.

clapham south is a better area, but more expensive. the south and northside of the common are nice too but also expensive. balham is also a better bet, or possibly around wandsworth common.

Also, is it correct that some areas fall under the cheaper Wandsworth council tax?

yes, as a very rough estimation, everything south of clapham south tube station is in SW12. the council tax there is much less, about 60% of what it costs in lambeth.

Can someone please clarify those parts of Clapham that are the better ones? I would ideally want to be near (within 5 minutes walk) of a tube station.

in my view the best bits are around clapham old town (west of clapham common tube), abbeville village (just north east of clapham south tube) and the nightingale triangle - which is between nightingale lane and balham high road and most of which is really in balham. next best is probably the bit between clapham high street and wandsworth road to the north of clapham common tube (some of this bit falls into what estate agents call clapham old town).

avoid clapham park road, it is nasty. also steer clear of anything north of clapham north tube station (especially stockwell which is dire) and most of the stuff to the east of bedford road (you don't have to go far in that direction before you get to brixton).

Around which stations should I consider moving to and which not?

clapham south is the best. it's also more expensive. it's not clear what you are looking to rent, but you can pick up a fairly decent double room in a houseshare between £500 and £600 a month, depending on how lucky you are.

a one bedroom flat is going to set you back about £1,100 a month in a crappy part of clapham north. i know someone who just rented a place for that price with a garden on bedford road. if you go to clapham south you are probably going to be paying more like £1,200, and £1,300 if you want it to have a garden (somewhat offset by council tax being £50 a month cheaper if you're in SW12 rather than SW4).

i have been looking for a one bed for a while. i haven't seen anything decent, but the average stuff without a garden is just sitting on the market at around £1,200 a month. there are tons of them on gumtree that just aren't shifting, so could probably get somewhere for a bit less than that.

Also, should ex-council properties and those near estates be avoided??

probably, although i did know someone who lived in an ex council place in clapham south which was fine. i think it is very hit and miss, mostly miss, and you want to avoid the sprawling estates which still have a lot of real council tenants. if it's a small block which is all now privately owned it might be worth a look.

one thing that you really must bear in mind: the northern line.

you cannot get on the northern line at clapham north or clapham common between 7.45am and 9.00am - it is just too busy and all the trains that come along are full. i am not sure about clapham south, but this is probably similarly bad although you might have a bit more leeway with times before it gets overcrowded. you have to go south on the tube down to balham to get on, or get the bus from clapham high street up to stockwell and get on the northern line there (loads of people get off the northern line to get on the victoria line so you can get on).

thus if you are 5 mins walk from clapham common tube, you are really 15-20 minutes from getting on the northern line at stockwell once you have walked to the bus stop and got on a bus.

Chris2685

Why did he delete his post?