Searching for a property to rent

Most people start searching for a property, fall in love and then sign on the dotted line. However, it’s really important that you don’t!

The first thing that you should do is work out how much space you actually need and how long you are likely to want to stay in the property. Then calculate how much you can afford to spend on rent a month. Don’t forget you will need to budget for bills such as gas and electricity, council tax and any service charges if it is a flat.

Once you know what space you need and how much you can afford to rent, you can start searching on-line and visiting letting agents. This will help you identify locations with properties that have the space you require and are within your rental budget.

Bear in mind that properties can be rented out quite quickly, so although the Internet is a great place to search, it’s advisable to check with local letting agents who will know what properties are coming onto the market in the future.

Before you even visit a property, it’s a good idea to ask three essential questions of any landlord or letting agent:

1.    Can you see a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate?
2.    Have they a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate and ideally an Electrical Safety Certificate*?
3.    Which company/scheme will your deposit be protected by?

Any landlord that can’t provide an answer to these three questions could be renting the property illegally. If the landlord doesn’t comply with the law, then how do you know the property is safe to live in? If you have any problems, will they actually bother to take care of them for you?

You can also check out our top ten tips for tenants here...

*The electrical safety certificate is not a legal requirement, but it means a qualified electrician has approved the appliances