Someone's taking the piss. There's almost no chance a "normal" flat in London is listed. Conservation area, maybe, but that's a different kettle of fish. Most likely your prospective landlord's a cheapskate.
There are about 2000 - 3000 grade 1 and grade 2* listed buildings in London. 92% of all listed buildings are grade 2; the other 8% are grade 1 or 2. So there's likely to be a fair amount of properties that are listed.
http://londonist.com/2011/06/all-listed-buildings-in-london-...