Key Points
- London homeowners are now leasing out their residential houses as shooting locations in films, TV shows and photoshoots to capitalize on their primary real estate assets.
- Daily rates for residential shoot locations range between £400 and over £2,000 depending on the scale of the production, the number of the crew involved and the features of the house.
- For instance, Homeowner Nina Watson bought an Edwardian semi-detached house with four bedrooms in Palmers Green, North London in 2017 for £750,000 and converted it into an appealing commercial shoot space.
- By coincidence, this renovation project turned out to be the reason why Watson left her job as office manager to become a full-time interior designer since she accumulated over 650,000 followers on Instagram (@artdecojewel).
- Some of the projects that took place at Watson’s house include fashion shoot featuring live pythons, sportswear campaign shoot inside her garden treehouse and film shoot with customized living room set.
- Other London homeowners, such as Nicola Gill, purposefully acquired and refurbished houses spending over £700,000 in acquisition and £200,000 on renovation of the house to attract filming industry customers.
- There is a number of specialised agencies providing services for the representation of properties for filming such as The Location Guys.
Palmers Green (North London News) August 31, 2026 – When Nina Watson purchased an Edwardian semi-detached property in Palmers Green, North London, for £750,000 in 2017, her original goal was securing a permanent residence for her family. However, renovating the four-bedroom house reshaped her career path, launching a business renting the property to film, television, and photo shoots.
As reported by property correspondent Ruth Bloomfield of the London Evening Standard, renting primary residences as commercial filming locations has become a popular method for Londoners to monetise home equity. Watson entered the sector unexpectedly after redecorating the residence.
As reported by Ruth Bloomfield of the London Evening Standard, Watson stated that when she and her husband Phil—who works as a local council officer—moved in with their children, Jonah, 16, and Rosa, 14, the interior was “very white and beige”. Both shared a passion for interior design and chose to execute a comprehensive home overhaul.
As reported by Ruth Bloomfield of the London Evening Standard, Watson—who was working as an office manager for an animation company—oversaw the renovation of the Palmers Green property. The work included fitting period fireplaces, commissioning stained glass for French doors, building a kitchen extension, and decorating in a “vintage eclectic” style.
As reported by Ruth Bloomfield of the London Evening Standard, Watson stated:
“When we decorated the house we did it for ourselves, nobody else.”
She documented the process on Instagram under the handle @artdecojewel, which subsequently built a audience of 650,000 followers. During the pandemic, Watson resigned from her office management role to pursue interior design full-time. Simultaneously, location agency The Location Guys contacted Watson to represent the house for media hire.
How do London homeowners monetise their residential properties for media shoots?
As reported by Ruth Bloomfield of the London Evening Standard, daily rental rates for residential locations start at around £450 for student films and reach over £2,000 per day for corporate clients.
As reported by Ruth Bloomfield of the London Evening Standard, Watson stated:
“You might get loads of bookings — we had four last week — or none”.
Income generated from bookings covers general household expenses and ongoing property upkeep.
Commercial shoots frequently involve unique operational adjustments. As reported by Ruth Bloomfield of the London Evening Standard, requests at Watson’s home have ranged from a fashion brand bringing a live python for a model shoot, to sportswear companies utilizing the garden treehouse, and film crews installing a temporary copper bathtub directly into the living room.
While Watson joined the location market unexpectedly, other property owners enter the industry strategically. As reported by Ruth Bloomfield of the London Evening Standard, homeowner Nicola Gill intentionally acquired a home in Catford to host filming crews as a financial strategy to afford a large family residence.
As reported by Ruth Bloomfield of the London Evening Standard, Gill and her partner, jazz musician Pete Wareham, purchased a former unlicensed HMO infested with vermin for £700,000 in 2014. Following a £200,000 renovation featuring vivid color schemes, cobalt blue rooms, and a coral staircase, Gill listed the property with The Location Guys in summer 2022, securing her first photoshoot booking within a week.
Background: What is driving the growth of residential location hiring in the UK?
The expansion of domestic location hires across Greater London is supported by high demand from television networks, streaming services, and commercial production firms seeking authentic domestic environments. Utilizing residential properties provides media agencies with realistic residential settings that would prove costly to replicate on dedicated studio sound stages.
Concurrently, elevated mortgage rates and living costs across the United Kingdom have prompted property owners to explore alternative income sources. Location hiring enables residents to generate daily fees without committing to long-term residential tenants under standard tenancy agreements.
However, listing a home as a production set requires strict maintenance. Homeowners must maintain clean interiors to accommodate short-notice bookings, arrange alternative accommodation during filming days, and periodically update interior decor to match current aesthetic trends.
Prediction: How will the expansion of home-filming rentals affect London property owners and local communities?
The ongoing growth of the residential location hiring market is expected to impact London property owners, production agencies, and local neighborhoods in several ways:
- Financial Relief for High-Value Property Owners: Earning daily location fees between £400 and £2,000 will provide homeowners with a mechanism to offset rising mortgage rates, high upkeep costs, and home renovation investments.
- Increased Local Regulatory Oversight: Higher concentrations of filming in suburban residential areas like Palmers Green and Catford may prompt borough councils to implement stricter parking regulations, noise management rules, and permit frameworks for commercial technical vehicles.
- Greater Competition Among Location Listings: As more homeowners redesign properties specifically to attract location scouts, competition within location agency portfolios will intensify. This standard may require hosts to maintain updated, highly customized interiors to secure high-paying corporate bookings.
