Renting a house for the first time

1. Set your budget

Agents usually want a yearly income of at least 30 times the monthly rent. That is the most you will be accepted for, not what is comfortable once bills are paid. Add council tax, energy, water and broadband to the rent before you decide.

• How much rent can I afford works out both figures from your salary.
• What bills you pay when renting, and what they come to.
• Average rent by postcode shows what homes like the one you want let for.

2. Search, and know the warning signs

Most homes are on the big property sites or with local letting agents. Never pay anything before you have viewed the home and know who you are dealing with: that is how most rental scams work. An advert must give one rent, and the landlord or agent can’t ask you to bid above it. The bidding ban.

3. View the home

Look for damp, mould, condensation and a heating system that works, test the water pressure, and check there are smoke alarms. Ask what the bills are, who the landlord is, and whether the home needs a licence. You should be given the Energy Performance Certificate by the time you view.

• Questions to ask before renting
• Damp and mould in a rented home

4. Pay a holding deposit

To take the home off the market, you may pay a holding deposit of up to one week’s rent. The landlord then has 15 days to agree the tenancy with you, unless you both agree longer. You get it back, or it goes towards your first rent or deposit, unless you pull out, give false information or fail a right to rent check. Work out the most you can be asked for.

5. Pass referencing and the right to rent check

The agent checks your identity, income, credit record and, often, an employer reference. It usually takes a day or two. The landlord must also check your right to rent: if you are not a British or Irish citizen, you will usually prove it with a share code.

• How tenant referencing works and the documents to have ready
• Right to rent share codes
• No rental history or a low income? How a guarantor works

6. Check the home and the paperwork before you sign

This is the last point at which you can walk away for nothing. Before you sign, make sure that:

• you have the written terms of the tenancy, and you understand the rent, the deposit and what you are responsible for (check your agreement)
• you have seen the gas safety record and the electrical safety report, or know you will get them before you move in (the certificates your landlord must give you)
• the home has a licence if it needs one (property licence checker)
• the person letting it owns it or is linked to the owner (who owns this property)
• you are asked for no more than one month’s rent upfront, and none before you sign

A RenterCheck on the address covers most of this in one go: the energy rating, flood risk and crime for free, and licensing, ownership and how the rent compares in the full report.

7. Sign and move in

• Agree the inventory and take dated photos of every room on the first day.
• Take meter readings, and set up the energy, water and broadband accounts in your name if the bills are yours.
• Within 30 days, check your deposit is protected and that you have the scheme’s information.
• Tell the council you have moved in for council tax, and consider contents insurance for your own things.

This guide covers common private tenancies in England and is general information, not legal advice. Different rules apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to lodgers, social housing and some specialist accommodation. RenterCheck is independent and not connected with any landlord, agent or council. Your rights as a tenant in England, in one place.