- Will Smith’s Bel-Air mansion would cost £14,781 a month to rent, based on current prices for a five-bedroom Los Angeles property.
- Manhattan appears three times in the top 10 priciest TV rentals, with Sex and the City, Friends, and Seinfeld homes all priced at over £3,000 monthly.
- Wisconsin appears twice among the five cheapest TV homes, with That ‘70s Show’s Forman family house costing £999 monthly in Green Bay.
The iconic mansion from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air would drain renters of nearly £15,000 every single month in today’s market – more than most Brits earn in six months.
House buying experts at Housebuyers4u looked at current rental prices for properties matching the specs and locations of 25 famous TV show homes to work out what fictional characters would have to pay out in 2024’s brutal rental market.
Will Smith’s pad from the iconic ’90s sitcom would cost a jaw-dropping £14,781 per month to rent today. This five-bedroom Los Angeles mansion isn’t just expensive; it demands more than triple the rent of the second priciest TV home on the list.
Sherlock Holmes and John Watson’s flat from the hit series Sherlock grabs second place. Their London flat would cost £4,577 monthly, surprisingly high despite having just two bedrooms. It also stands out as the only non-American property in the top 10.
Unsurprisingly, Manhattan proved to be a major hotspot for expensive TV home rentals. Carrie Bradshaw’s West Village apartment from Sex and the City snagged third place at £3,922 monthly for a tiny one-bedroom property.
Monica’s Greenwich Village apartment from Friends came in at £3,767 per month, and Seinfeld’s Upper West Side apartment would cost £3,140 monthly.
In fifth place, Buffy Summers‘ family home in Torrance, California, commanded £3,552 monthly for three bedrooms. The Griffin Family home from Family Guy in Cranston, Rhode Island, would also cost £3,108 monthly.
And for Tony Soprano‘s North Caldwell, New Jersey residence? That would be about £2,960 each month.
Finally, completing our top ten priciest TV rentals: The Golden Girls’ Miami home commands £2,958 a month, while Sheldon and Leonard’s apartment from The Big Bang Theory in Pasadena would go for £2,796 monthly.
The 10 most expensive fictional TV homes to rent, based on 2024 market prices
| Rank | Character(s) | Show | Location | Monthly Rent (GBP) |
| 1 | Will Smith | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Bel Air, Los Angeles, CA | £14,781 |
| 2 | Sherlock and Watson | Sherlock | Marylebone, London (UK) | £4,577 |
| 3 | Carrie Bradshaw | Sex and the City | West Village, Manhattan, NY | £3,922 |
| 4 | Monica Geller | Friends | Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NY | £3,767 |
| 5 | Buffy Summers | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Torrance, CA | £3,552 |
| 6 | Jerry Seinfeld | Seinfeld | Upper West Side, Manhattan, NY | £3,140 |
| 7 | Griffin Family | Family Guy | Cranston, RI | £3,108 |
| 8 | Tony Soprano | The Sopranos | North Caldwell, NJ | £2,960 |
| 9 | Beatrice, Betty, Rue, Estelle | The Golden Girls | Miami, FL | £2,958 |
| 10 | Sheldon and Leonard | The Big Bang Theory | Pasadena, CA | £2,796 |
For those looking for TV homes with more manageable price tags, the apartment above Paddy’s Pub from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia makes the list. Dennis and Mac’s South Philadelphia spot would rent for £1,369 a month.
Then, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, you’d find the Happy Days‘ Cunningham Family home. This three-bedroom house is a steal at just £1,184 monthly.
Surprisingly, Barney Stinson’s apartment from How I Met Your Mother in Yorkville, New York, would only cost £1,147 a month. That’s a massive difference compared to other New York properties in this study, really showing how Manhattan’s housing market lives in its own financial universe, miles away from other NYC neighbourhoods.
The Byers family home from Stranger Things, in Fayetteville, Georgia, would cost a modest £1,036 monthly today, while the Forman home from That ’70s Show in Wisconsin takes the crown as the most affordable TV home at just £999 a month.
The five least expensive fictional TV homes to rent, based on 2024 market prices
| Rank | Character(s) | Show | Location | Monthly Rent (GBP) |
| 1 | Forman Family | That ‘70s Show | Green Bay, WI | £999 |
| 2 | Will Byers | Stranger Things | Fayetteville, GA | £1,036 |
| 3 | Barney Stinson | How I Met Your Mother | Yorkville, NY | £1,147 |
| 4 | Cunningham Family | Happy Days | Milwaukee, WI | £1,184 |
| 5 | Dennis and Mac | It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia | South Philadelphia, PA | £1,369 |
Paul Gibbens, Property Expert at Housebuyers4u, commented on the findings:
“This study is a light-hearted way to highlight the huge differences in rental costs across the states. Case in point: the Fresh Prince mansion’s rent is nearly 15 times steeper than the Forman Family home from That ’70s Show. Clearly, location remains the single most important driver of property values, with homes of similar size swinging by thousands of dollars based solely on their address.”
