UK Easy Rental Advice
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Help & Advice for
FOREIGN STUDENTS
FOREIGN WORKERS
First look online. I recommend the following two sites -
Gumtree - Use the headings - Flats & Houses - For Rent & To Share.
RightMove - Excellent for studios, flats & houses to rent.
You can find many adverts for accommodation offline in the local daily newspaper for the area or town where you intend to live. There will usually be one or two days in the week which specifically feature accommodation adverts, often Thursday, Friday and/or Saturday. Searching for accommodation is very competitive, so buy the newspaper early in the day, start your search and make appointments to view as soon as possible. Search in the section entitled "accommodation to let".
You can find adverts for accommodation displayed in newsagent and convenience store windows. Choose a newsagent near to the location where you wish to live as these adverts are usually localised. Supermarkets also sometimes have advertisement boards.
You could try visiting letting agents who usually have offices located on the high street. Or you could tour the area where you would like to live and note down phone numbers shown on "To Let" boards, displayed ouside interesting looking properties.
If you are a student, your school, college or university may have advertisement boards or even an accommodation department.
Making contact by phone is better than using e-mail because it will usually get an instant response. Text messages are OK, but again, prompt replies are never guaranteed.
Read more advice about - Talk vs Text vs Email
And if all else fails, there is always word of mouth. So talk to your friends, workmates or fellow students. This could prove to be very fruitful.
Try to be organised in your accommodation search.
Perhaps make a list of all the phone numbers that look promising and against each number note down the important details as indicated in the advert.
Look up the locations on a local street map or by visiting
GoogleMap UK.
In each case ask yourself, "Is this a good location?"
Is it near my workplace, school, college or university?
Are there any shops or supermarkets nearby?
If not, is it on a bus route or near a train station?
You will also need to know, how much the rent is. Is it paid weekly or monthly? Is there a deposit to pay, and if so, how much? Does the rent include bills such as electricity, gas, heating, hot water, internet, etc.?
More Tips - Searching for a Room to Let
When searching for a room to let, decide whether you want to be the only occupant of the room or whether you would like to share a room with another person.
This latter type of room is known as a double room or twin room.
Before viewing a room ask how many other people are renting rooms in the same house or flat.
Find out if all the room renters use the same bathroom, toilet and kitchen.
Some houses and flats have more than one bathroom and/or toilet but there will almost certainly be only one kitchen.
More Tips - Searching for a Studio, Flat, Apartment or House to Let.
When making an enquiry find out whether you are dealing directly with the landlord or landlady, or whether you are dealing with a property letting and/or management agency. If you are dealing with a landlord directly there will most likely be no hidden costs. You will simply pay a deposit and a monthly or weekly rent. If you are dealing with an agent you will probably have to pay an administrative charge. This charge will almost certainly be non-refundable should you change your mind and cancel the rental at a later stage.
Be sure to ask whether the property is furnished, part furnished or unfurnished.
If it is part furnished, find out what furniture is included, and what is not included.
Ask about white goods, ie: cooker, fridge-freezer, washing machine, etc.
All, or some, of these items will usually be included, but not always.
Cheap rents can often be an indication of the quality of the area where the accommodation is located.
So be careful. Do some research. Check out the neighbourhood.
Learn More
Beware of advertisers who only offer contact by e-mail and who ask for an up-front payment before allowing you to view the accommodation.
The accommodation on offer usually looks too good to be true.
And that's exactly what it is - too good to be true.
This type of activity is a scam and the accommodation advertised invariably doesn't exist.
So the rule is - Never Pay Before View !!!
For one of several reasons you may be unavailable to view the accommodation in person.
You may therefore be tempted to appoint a friend to view on your behalf.
This is definitely not recommended.
Learn More
In certain situations you might be tempted to try to remotely reserve accommodation in advance, without ever viewing the accommodation.
This is definitely not recommended.
Learn More
Landlords and landladies have to deal with a large number of responses to their adverts and at times they may seem impatient or unhelpful. Nothing will annoy them more than you asking them unnecessary questions to which you should already know the answers if you have read the adverts carefully. So, be organised, and be polite. If you think the room or property could be right for you, ask when would be a convenient day and time to view. The sooner, the better, as there will almost certainly be other people interested in the same property. Many landlords will adopt a "first come, first served" approach, so there is no time to lose.
Now go to the section, View Accommodation.
TALK vs TEXT vs EMAIL
BE ORGANISED
SEARCHING FOR A STUDIO, FLAT,
APARTMENT OR HOUSE TO LET
Help & Advice for
Foreign Students
International Students
Foreign Workers !!!
