First time renting

[MrsJ28903]

We have sold our house (fingers crossed) but have no where to move to (dead market) so will be going into a rented house. Where do we begin? Where is the best place to look? What do we need to know? We’ve never rented before so clueless but willing to learn!

Go online to www.rightmove.co.uk

Search there for the areas you want. You can fine tune the search to choose bedrooms and cost etc. They're mostly advertised by letting agencies.

When you see one you like, the contact details are there.

Oh but a word of warning...renting is such a waste of money. It's expensive with deposits and they will also seem to want a LOT of paperwork.

We would really rather not rent but there is nothing suitable to buy. What kind of paperwork will we need? Are deposits usually one month’s rent?

It’s usually one months rent for a deposit and the first month in advance - so 2 months needed up front.

Paperwork is employment reference, reference from last house (not sure what the equivalent is if you owned the house though...), 3 months bank statements, and the same for any guarantors you may need.

England? Read this:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent

I think there are Scottish and Welsh equivalents. This document tells you the facts about your rights and obligations.

clueless tenants are easy meat for dodgy landlords and dodgy agents - the latter are barely regulated, in some areas the former are but there is no enforcement. So get clued up. Especially if London which is a war zone due to the high demand.

do not rent a shithole on the promise it will get better. It won't.
The reason 'all that paperwork' is wanted is the combination of tenant's rights (which should be there) and a broken court system (which should not). This allows you to move in and then pay no more rent and it will take the landlord months to evict you. Hence the checks.

tenant fees act (look it up) - many agents are ignoring, again especially in London. Don't fall for that. Do not lie on applications (as some on here will tell you to do) - while you no longer pay fees, fabrication will cost you the holding deposit.

sensible landlords give an initial six months fixed term only, after that tenancy goes rolling. Probably suits you too. The 'evict on a whim' peddled by Shelter, the Guardian and on here is a lie. You won't get a tenancy for less than six months from a decent landlord unless it is a holiday let, airbnb or similar.

Really helpful. Thanks. We are not in London but there isn’t a great deal of homes available to rent (or buy!) where we are. Thinking to rent via our estate agent (they’ll be hoping we also buy a house from them when a suitable one comes up so I’m hoping they’ll be a good agent for renting too).

Yes in England.

6 months then rolling would suit perfectly.

it's not really the agent that matters as long as they stick to the law, it is the landlord as that is who you contract with. That said, if the agent know you as normal human beings that will help with recommendation!

usual stuff that comes up on here: EPC (illegal to rent anywhere below E after April, and don't be surprised if a low rated place is cold), smoke alarms (mandatory), gas safe (ditto if gas), general condition (rented as seen!), inventory (good landlords have one done), understanding of wear and tear vs damage.

don't forget to get tenant's contents insurance. And when the time comes, do not give notice to landlord until you have exchanged contracts, even if it means an overlap.

The costs can mount up.
One months rent deposit + £100
one month in advance
credit search fee
£25 key deposit
VAT on all sorts.

Thats just specific things I remember. Put another way, to move into a £550 per calendar month rented place I had to hand over £1800 (one thousand eight hundred)
Which was quite a shock.

Zoopla and Right Move are good places to start a search.

read the how to rent. Most of those fees are now illegal. you have to pay the rent anyway, yes you need deposit which is capped at five weeks, down from the six weeks most charged before. So a £550 place would cost you £687 in deposit (make sure it gets protected). You may have to pay a holding deposit but that is refundable if all goes ahead.

forgot to say the effect of this is that with much higher fees for landlords, regrettably short-term tenants may not be popular. Sorry. Also capped deposits mean reluctance to take pets if that is an issue.

No pets to consider thank goodness!