Every person who is looking to rent will find different challenges. Whether it's finding safe and comfortable places to rent or finding out what the average rent is in a set area - it can be difficult to achieve success.
However, when it's done right, you can gain confidence that you know what you should be paying per month for your rent and feeling that you know your rights.
The best in the game like Homeshare, Portico and Andrew Reeves prepare for these same issues and achieve the results above through efficient planning and preparation.
They say always be prepared - and here is no different! Let's look under the hood at the biggest challenges faced by those looking to rent.
knowing what the average monthly rent is?
finding out what your rights are?
finding others to share a house with?
raising a deposit?
Knowing what the average monthly rent is?
You need to know what the average rent is for your area so that can make sure you are paying a competitive price. Without this prior knowledge you will not be able to identify a rogue letting agent, as a warning to a rogue agent would be the rental prices being to high or to low compared to the market.
It would be very helpful to know what the average rent includes as TMG include all bills and we advertise that the WiFi is a high speed service. If all bills are included you must check what this actually covers. If you are responsible for the bills then how much you would expect to pay vs a rental property with all the bills included as a rental price that looks a good deal maybe not be in the long term.
Finding out what your rights are?
The UK Government have created a guide for tenants and landlords who are in the private rented sector. This guide helps you to know and understand your rights and responsibilities. It covers areas such as
what to look out for before renting
living in a rented home
what happens at the end of a tenancy
what to do if things go wrong
As part of many council landlord accreditations you have to present this guide, a valid EPC and gas and electrical certificate when the tenant signs the AST.
Finding others to share a house with?
As someone who has rented this is probably one of the biggest worries. Who are you to live with? What are the people like? Will I get on with the other tenants?
The best way to rent a house if you are concerned about the other people is to move in with friends or people you already know. However this is not always possible so there are platforms you can turn to such as Spareroom, Facebook and Gumtree.
But try to see it as being part of a new community, being able to meet interesting people, being able to live in lovely accommodation but with a lower monthly rental obligation. To ensure you do not feel uncomfortable with your new AST responsibility make sure you read all the terms and agree to a break clause after 6 months.
Raising a deposit?
The traditional deposit paid before you move into the property along with the first months rent can be a major issue, especially if you are still renting and waiting for the previous deposit to be released.
But there is a new kid on the block, https://www.zerodeposit.com/. They ask for one weeks rent that is placed into an investment scheme as the deposit so making renting more affordable, and before you worry they are FCA regulated. The deposit is held away from the tenant and landlord so both parties are protected.
The UK Government do however only support the below schemes so please make sure the letting agent or landlord accept alternative schemes and your rental protection insuranceÂ
Do these problems resonate with you? Have you faced similar challenges? Why not leave a comment below and join the discussion - we'd love to hear from you!
