'Renters are treated like an income stream, not people'

London's letting market has become like a property version of the 'Hunger Games', where only the strongest and most desperate find an affordable place to live,

- Ellie Muir

I have a special motto for approaching London's rental market: choose violence. Not in the literal sense - I don't aggressively chase estate agents down the street or wallop landlords over the head with a frying pan - it's more of a mindset.

When the yearly tenancy ends and I’ve got a matter of months to find somewhere new to live, I become abrasive, uncompromising and, well, unbearable. I dedicate every waking hour to finding a flat, my phone is programmed to ping each time a new property is added to Rightmove and my social life becomes non-existent so that I’m free to attend an impromptu viewing at any given moment.

After viewing dozens of properties that are optimistically advertised online – that “spacious and characterful” third bedroom? It’s actually a cupboard – my flatmates and I might find something we actually like. At this point, the desperation kicks in further: I try to manifest our desired outcome, using my GCSE drama skills to present myself as the most perfect tenant that ever lived. I triple-call estate agents, and, if pushed, I turn up at their offices unannounced when they don’t reply. Put simply, I’m not a person anymore; I’m a flat-hunting “can I speak to your manager?” robot competing in the London rental market equivalent of the Hunger Games.