Haven't seen the film but apparently, these characters own a house in Stoke Newington? How deep in debt can they be?
Sell the house, move into a flat, wait for the property bubble to burst (as it always does.) Easy.
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The rental was in Hackney. To rent a flat in Hackney which is big enough to have a basement to sub let, they would have to be paying at least £1500 on the rental alone, then the mortgage on the property in Stoke Newington would have been at least £1000 (I assuming they remortgaged in order to redecorate because dead relative must have left it all to them mortgage free or the bank would have sold it to pay any outstanding mortgage and given them any money left over).
Therefore this couple were rich. As a previous poster has mentioned, why didn't they just leave the rental and live in the house? It would have been stressful for a while, but it would have been a case of 'beggars can't be choosers'.
I found the whole thing so unbelievable. I don't mind a few holes in the plot in order to make the film entertaining, but I found this to be a too big of a hole.
The rental was in Shepherds Bush. On the long shots of the property you can see the Tube & train station in the background, and the edge of the Westfield. I used to walk past that house every day :)
No idea what it would cost to rent the whole property, but suggest £3k+ a month minimum.