Housing - advice for renting privately

Renting a home from a private landlord has a number of advantages including:

Choice and mobility - Wide range of properties in different areas, often available to move into immediately
Affordability - Can be cheaper than buying your own home. If you are on a low income you can also receive help to pay your rent by applying for local housing allowance.

Things to consider

When looking to rent privately you need to consider several things:

Type of tenancy being offered
Whether you can afford to pay the rent
Getting a deposit - It's likely you will also need a deposit and rent in advance
Whether the property is in good repair and if it meets your requirements
Does the landlord operate in a professional manner? - You might want to take a look at landlord duties and support
Get a checklist on how to rent (external link) on the GOV.UK website.

You will find private rented properties advertised through lettings and estate agents, real estate portal and property websites and local papers.

There are usually lots of properties to choose from across different areas in the borough.

There are organisations who can offer support on a things like benefits and welfare, debt and employment.

Whether your landlord can evict you, and how, depends on the type of tenancy you have. If you're not sure about your rights, get independent advice from Citizens Advice (external link) or visit Shelter (external link) to find out more.
If your private landlord is harassing you or attempting to force you to leave your home, you need to know your rights - find out how you can deal with harassment (external link) or illegal eviction (external link).

Advice for being a private landlord - including information to help you manage your properties, getting accreditation, leasing your property to us, tax support and more.