Renting for the first time...

Touser

Hi,

Me and 3 friends are going to rent a house for the first time and just wondered what kind of things we need to know or be aware of e.g. the law, the new Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme (and how it works for us), house insurance, the best way to organise our finances (can we set up an account between 4 people?) and any other general tips etc.


Thanks for your time.

pcwilkins

Touser wrote: »

Hi,

Me and 3 friends are going to rent a house for the first time and just wondered what kind of things we need to know or be aware of e.g. the law

You need to realise that if one of your friends leaves before the end of the contract, that doesn't mean you can get away with only paying 75% of the rent. The forums are full of sob stories like "I rented a house with my partner/friend/sister and now they've left and I can't pay the rent and the LL is going to evict me" etc etc. What you need to realise is that unless you rent seperate rooms, there is only one tenant (a composite tenant made up of you four) and that one tenant is responsible for paying the rent. Of course you can choose to pay 25% each but if all three of your mates run off and can't be traced, the LL is going to be looking at you for the entire rent. Any court action for non-payment of rent is going to involve all four of you, not just the one who didn't pay.

Obviously you can then take your own action against the non-payer. Might be best to have an agreement signed by all four so that you can prove that each of you agreed to pay 25%.

The real issue is, make sure you trust your friends!

the new Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme (and how it works for us)

You give deposit to LL. He must protect it and give you certain information about how he has protected it within 14 days. If he doesn't you can apply for a court order that will order him to pay you 3x deposit as a penalty.

house insurance,

You don't need building insurance but you might like contents insurance if you have anything worth stealing.

the best way to organise our finances (can we set up an account between 4 people?)

Yes, and you should.

and any other general tips etc.

You may need guarantors, depending on your age/income. If you do, they need to understand my first point above. They might be called upon to pay the entire rent if it goes really pear-shaped.

You will have to pay water, council tax (if you're not exempt, i.e. students), gas, electricity, TV licence (if you really want a TV), and probably other things that I've forgotten.

Peter

Touser

Thanks pcwilkins, you seem to have answered all of the questions I had.

If anyone else has anything else to add what we need to look out for etc, please feel free.

sandieb

You might find this website useful:

http://www.arla.co.uk/info/tenants.htm

moneysavinmonkey

When I first started renting I found loads of helpful information on Pastures New website....

http://www.pastures-new.co.uk/info/basics

they have loads of helpful articles and can print off a viewing checklist.

Touser

Thanks to all who have provided advice/links to advice on this thread, it is appreciated.

Thanks.