First time renting help needed

ArtySparkly

I'm disabled and moving in with my boyfriend and at least for the first 2 or 3 months my personal income will just be DLA. My boyfriend has a full time job which will give us a total income of around £1500 a month.

The more I think about it, the more I'm worried we are going to come into problems so I was hoping people with a lot more knowledge than me could help/reassure.

I've been told by others that spending 1/3 of our income on rent is doable. There are plenty of places around for £500 so that's not a problem but how much do you think we could allow for a rental place that includes all bills? The other outgoings we've got will be £30 a month on a contract phone, £150 a month on petrol and then food/toiletries. I'm worried we won't have enough money which is why if bills are included, I'd at least feel a bit more secure.

Also my second worry is whether we will be seen as horribly unattractive tenants because I'm on benefits. Both our parents earn a lot so either could be guarantors, we both have no debt but have overdrafts available and I have a credit card with a balance of £0 and we both have good credit history. Neither of us smoke or have pets so really we aren't that bad but I'm just worried how much it will put people off, I want to be mentally prepared if it's going to be tough.

BitterAndTwisted

What agents and landlords look at, apart from credit-checks etcetera, is affordability.

One third of your household income on rent would be affordable. The only proviso is if neither of you have lived independently, so haven't had to budget before which can make things hard. But it is do-able.

Having a couple of guarantors to offer puts you at a huge advantage.

Although I fear that it would be near-on impossible to find a property with utility bills inclusive. You should budget for about £100 a month fro Council tax and another £100 for heating and lighting. Which would leave you about £800 a month for eevrything else. That should be plenty.

ArtySparkly

Thank you so much! I forgot to add, we've both been uni students with my boyfriend living in student accommodation (I stayed living at home) so that might help us with budgeting.

Just to have a figure of what to allow for electric and gas really helps.

I've seen a few rental properties for £550 and £600 a month that say all bills including council tax are included in rent, but I suppose "all bills" could mean anything!

Manchee

If you are both full time students you don't have to pay council tax. Where I live most student houses come fully furnished, so you wouldn't need to worry about having to buy furniture. However, unless marketed by a company that does student lets, all other houses/flats are usually no students.

BitterAndTwisted

If the properties are advertised as "bills included" you should be asking yourself why that is. Separate dwellings should have separate meters, and most especially separate Council Tax accounts.

ArtySparkly

Sorry to confuse, we're not students anymore! I will definitely be getting a furnished place though, anything to save money!

[Deleted User]

You can find out council tax beforehand by checking the property banding online through your local councils website, I would expect a house that costs £500 per month to rent would probably be in the region of £100/m council tax.

Although bills vary depending on the specifics of the place you're renting, a reasonable (high end) estimate for 2 people in a modern-ish house would be around £80 for electricity, £50 for gas and £30 for water, round up to £200 and I think that's a good amount to budget for, you'll probably come in way under that though.

Personally I think the following rule is what you should aim for:

1/3rd of income on rent. 1/3rd of income on living costs (bills, food). 1/3rd of income into savings.

£500 rent
£100 council tax, £200 utilities, £200 food
£500 savings

ArtySparkly

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

If the properties are advertised as "bills included" you should be asking yourself why that is. Separate dwellings should have separate meters, and most especially separate Council Tax accounts.

I have no idea...

Obviously if I sorted it myself it would all be paid separately but I'm not too clued up on things from the LL's point of view. Are you thinking they might price hike?

ArtySparkly

Thank you Citricsquid, that is such a massive help. It's good to know there will be some money left over for savings, I am hugely relieved right now!

BitterAndTwisted

No, I'm not. It's not unknown for a property owner to convert a house into two separate flats, sometimes living in one and letting the other one out. Without having separate utility meters installed and no separate Council Tax accounts. If they're going to do that, then there are a multitude of other things they might not be doing either. None of which would be of benefit of their tenant/s.

Unless you are looking to rent a room in a shared house or flat, where this is less uncommon. But that's not the sort of set-up a couple would normally be looking for.

ArtySparkly

Ahh I see! I hadn't even thought of that, that's a really good point, thank you.