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If you are confident enough, then arranging accommodation with the landlord can be a lot faster, simpler and cheaper. Agencies may offer you convenient accompanied property viewings, pressure is often applied to get you to sign for a house and hand over a fee and deposit. Once the tenancy commences there is no guarantee that the level of service will be any better than that offered by a private landlord.
However, if you decide to rent directly from the landlord then we strongly urge you to research and understand your rights and more importantly the responsibility your landlord has in terms of what they are required to provide by law. If in doubt seek professional advice and ensure that you read these sections fully!!
Advantages:- Often better value for money, no fees and more scope for flexibility - i.e. you can often change the terms of your contract to suit you and negotiate the amount of deposit you'll need.
Disadvantages:- More chance of being 'ripped off', less protection regarding your rights if you aren't given a contract, more risk of losing your deposit.
Take a note pad with you and make sure you writet the answers to these questions down.
- How long has the property been available to rent? Most places get snapped up quickly so if it has been vacant a while ask why.
- What furniture comes with the property? All very well showing it to you with a TV, video etc. but these may be the present tenants and won't be there when you move in!
- Is there any work to be carried out? Find out and make sure that this is detailed in your agreement as well as the completion date. If you have asked for any work to be done, again make sure this is documented.
- How much are the utility bills and who is responsible? The landlord may pay for certain bills such as the water and you'll have everything else!
- Ask about the period of agreement and note that the landlord cannot increase the rent during this time.
- Find out about what notice you need to give to leave the property.
- When was the last time they had an electrical installation safety check - can you see the certificate?
- Ask to see their Corgi gas certificate.
- If three or more are to be sharing the property does the Landlord have a current HMO Licence [House of Multiple Occupation]?
On the day you move in, request that your landlord makes an inspection of the property with you. This way you can both draw up an inventory, and identify any damage or breakage or faults not caused by you. Make sure that you both sign the inventory in case of any disagreements at a later stage.
You have two main avenues for organising accommodation, one is to use an accommodation agency as discussed in the previous section and the other is to rent direct from the landlord. The following are some of the places you can find accommodation advertised by agencies:
- Local Newspapers & Magazines
- Websites
- Through The Local Council / Borough
- Shops, Notice boards etc
BritBound Tip - Many agencies advertise properties in classified sections without telling you they are an agency - some papers stipulate that they must say when this is the case but be aware many don't and you end up ringing the number only to find that it has been advertised by an agency.
The Loot – www.loot.com
The paper version of Loot – [which is a huge advertisement marketplace and has versions for every different area in the UK] is published 5 times a week (a different colour each day). Sections you may wish to check include: Houses to Let, Flats to Let, Bedsits, Rooms, Flat & Houseshare, and Short lets.
BritBound Tip – Sign up for the on-line service and you can purchase their EarlyBird token, this gives you access to all of the latest adverts at 6.30am each morning for a number of days (the paper version does not show you new ads and you can waste money calling old ads). You can also request information to be sent by e-mail each morning - all of the advertisements appear free on the website after 4 days, but good accommodation is often rented very quickly, so it is worth considering paying for the EarlyBird service.
The TNT – www.tntmag.co.uk
A magazine aimed mainly at travellers from Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa & other sources of Working Holiday travellers. A small section at the back has mainly rooms in shared houses so if you are looking for a room in the London area then this may prove successful.
The Evening Standard –- A London paper that has a classified section for flats/ houses & rooms to let . They are advertised by area and the adverts are primarily placed by landlords and tenants although some agencies also advertise but they will say so in the advert. Printed Monday- Friday, see Thursday for the biggest selection & their Homes & Property supplement.
www.newspapersoc.org.uk - An excellent site that will give you a list to all the websites of your local papers. Search to find them by region (you will need to know what county you are going to be living / working in first). Browse the papers on-line site to see if they have an on-line classifieds section where you can see the adverts placed privately and through agencies. If nothing else they will give you a good idea of what the approximate prices will be.
BritBound Tip – If you can access the property classifieds why not see if they have a wanted section and put in your own advert for a property – you never know the response may surprise you but don’t rest all hopes on it! Websites For House / Flatshares – Mainly For London Areas.
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APT: apartment, flat;
Avail: available;
B&B: bed & breakfast;
B/Sit: bedsit;
Bath: bathroom;
Bed: bedroom;
BR: train station (British Rail);
Bth: bathroom; toilet;
CH: central heating;
Cond: condition;
Cpl / CP: couple;
D / G: double glazed;
DBL or DL: double;
Dec: decorated;
Dep: deposit required;
DLR: Docklands Light Railway;
DSS: person receiving unemployment benefit (from the
Department of Social Security);
Eves: evenings;
Exc: excellent; excluding;
Excl: excluding bills (heating etc);
F: female;
F / F: fully furnished, fridge-freezer;
Flr: floor;
Flt: flat;
Furn: furnished;
GCH: gas central heating;
Gd: good;
Gdn: garden;
H&C:hot & cold water;
HA: Housing Association
Heat: heating;
Imm: immediate;
Inc / Incl: including heating/hot water bills;
Info: information;
Kit: kitchen;
Loc: location;
Lrg: large;
Lux: luxurious;
M: male;
Mais: maisonette;
Min: minute, minimum;
Mod: modern;
Mth: month;
N/S: non-smoker;
Nec: necessary;
Nr: near;
OSP: off-street parking;
PW: per week;
PCM: per calendar month;
Pkg: parking;
Pls: please;
PP: per person;
Pref: preferred;
Prof: professional;
Rd: road;
Refs: references required;
Req / Reqd: required;
Rm: room;
Sep: separate;
Sgl: single;
Stn: station;
Stud: studio;
Tel: telephone;
Trans: transport;
Tube: underground train (London);
TV: television;
Unfurn: unfurnished;
Vgc: very good condition;
W: with;
WC: toilet;
Wd: washer-dryer;
W/e: weekends;
Wkly: weekly;
Wks: weeks;
Wm: washing machine, warm, well-maintained
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