If you’re about to rent a home in the UK then you’re joining the growing army of ‘generation rent’, up from 10% of all households during the 1990s to 22% or 5.4 million households today1.
As the number of people renting homes privately has increased, regulation of the market has tightened both to protect tenants from bad landlords and unscrupulous agents, and to make rented properties safer to live in.
But despite so many people renting, it is surprising how many first-time tenants don’t know the basics of how to rent a home, and the potential pitfalls they face.
To help, here’s our guide to take you through the process, step by step.
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Find a property to rent
Most people start looking on the main property portals such as Rightmove or Zoopla but properties can rent so fast that it’s still worth phoning a few local letting agents each day to see what’s just come on to the market - before they’re listed online - and also there are also property websites such as OpenRent which offer 'real-time' listings.
But if you’re after a room in a shared house then don’t bother with the portals. Instead websites such as SpareRoom, IdealFlatmate are where you should start looking.
Read our guide to the top tech for tenants.
Or read our guide to the types of properties available to rent in the UK.
Do viewings
Letting agent pictures can make even the most cramped one-bedder look spacious, so it’s vital to go and see properties rent in the flesh however desperate you are.
It’s also a good opportunity to find out some vital information to help you decide whether to bag the property, or not. Questions to ask include:
Will the property be managed by the landlord or an agent?
Is the landlord planning to renovate the property soon?
Deposits - six weeks’ rent is the norm these days
What admin, referencing and check-in fees will you be charged by the letting agent before you move in, or afterwards?
What’s included in the rent?
Can you smoke or keep pets within the property?
Does it have the correct safety devices - including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors/alarms?
Which official deposit scheme is the letting agent registered with?
Tip: If you're renting with friends then ensure you all turn up to the viewing; don’t just send one person to check it out. Properties often rent within a few hours, particularly in popular city centre locations.
Watch out for scams
Ensure you get to do the viewings in person with the landlord or agent face to face. People who rent properties out online without doing a physical visit are increasingly being scammed by fake landlords who steal pictures of real properties to rent, and then create fake listings - either on auction sites like eBay or on Facebook. So be careful! It happens.
Get accepted
If the landlord likes you and you’re in, then there’s a bit of paperwork to complete before you get the keys:
Referencing
Most landlords and agents these days put tenants through referencing. This includes a credit check plus references from your bank, previous landlord and employer. If you can’t provide these then sometimes landlords will allow a relative of yours to become your rent guarantor.
Right to Rent
The government now forces landlords or their letting agents to check that each tenant over 18 years old named on a tenancy agreement has the right to rent in the UK before they move in, or face stiff fines. This means copies will be taken of either a tenant’s British passport, or any documentation that gives them the right to live in the UK.
Deposits
You will have to pay a deposit of between four and six weeks’ rent to the landlord or agent before you move in. They in turn are required by law to post the deposit with one of the three government-approved deposit schemes, give the tenant both a receipt for the deposit and tell them which scheme it’s registered with. As well as the deposit, tenants in the UK are asked to pay the first month's rent in advance - rent in paid in advance normally, not in arrears.
Read more about how deposits work
Tenancy agreement
Any reputable landlord or letting agent in the UK will ask you to sign a rental contract. The most common is the Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement, or AST. This is a contract between the tenant and the landlord that usually runs for six months after which both sides can give a month’s notice to quit.
Read our guide to tenancy agreement pitfalls
It also sets out the terms of how a tenant rents the property and names the landlord including their address and contact details, how much the rent is, when it is due every month, how it will be paid and when rent increases are likely to happen.
Read our guide to rent increases
ASTs are relatively standard contracts these days but read them carefully - some landlords add non-standard terms such as rules that stop tenants from keeping pets in the property, stipulating what they can or can’t put on the walls and preventing tenants bringing in additional furniture to the property, for example.
Inventory check
Before you move in, many landlords bring in an inventory clerk to record and photograph all the fixtures, fittings and furniture within a property, as well as the condition of the paintwork, carpets, furniture and curtains. Often you will be asked to pay for this.
Move in - and start building your credit score
Tenants can improve their credit score without having to borrow money. If you want to improve your credit position by reporting your rent payments, CreditLadder is the only way to improve your credit score and position across all three of the main Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, namely Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
CreditLadder also runs a free mortgage application service which will tell you how much you could borrow.
References
1. Homelet website: 'How many landlords & tenants are there in the UK?' 2015
CreditLadder can help you improve your credit score
If you want to improve your credit position by reporting your rent payments, CreditLadder is the only way to improve your credit score and position across all four of the main Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, namely Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Crediva. Building up a high credit score has a lot of benefits, including helping you access finance at better rates - this can also help save you money.
CreditLadder also runs a free mortgage application service in partnership with Tembo which will tell you how much you could borrow.
Remember the information provided in this article is for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice.
