Renting privately

You may wish to consider renting through a private landlord. The advantage of renting privately is that you can choose where you live and therefore be near your support network, schools, employment, hospitals and GPs etc. You may also get help towards your rent by claiming housing benefits. Housing benefits is a form of welfare to help people pay their rent. It depends on your income, savings or capital and other factors.

Know the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates (LHA is a way of working out housing benefit for tenants in private rented accommodation)

Apply for housing benefit

As well as signing up with lettings agents or looking in local newspapers, you can also search online. There aer many useful websites, such as:

• www.gumtree.com
• www.loot.com
• www.findaproperty.com
• www.rightmove.co.uk

If you do not have internet access, most libraries now have computers for the public to use, and you can use these to search for properties online.

Before accepting and signing a tenancy agreement there are a few checks you need to do first:

• If you are claiming housing benefit, make sure that the rent is within the Local Housing Allowance rate (LHA)
• Make sure the condition and size of the property is suitable to avoid living in substandard accommodation which is too large or too small for your needs.
• You should request to see a valid gas safety certificate, which ensures the gas fittings in the property are safe and there are no leaks. This needs to be done yearly.
• All properties are now required to have an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate). This gives information on the energy homes use and carbon dioxide emissions. This also contains a recommendation report which gives suggestions on how to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.
• Ensure that the Landlord or Estate Agents accept the current Local Housing Allowance rate as the rent. If the Landlord or Estate Agent insists on a higher rate then we would suggest that their request is unreasonable as the Local Housing Allowance rates are very generous. We would also advise not to accept the property as you may encounter financial difficulties when paying rent.
• Please make sure your deposit is protected in a 'Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme'. This is a legal requirement.