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This page provides information and advice about private rented housing.
With social housing in such short supply, the majority of households are able to resolve their housing situation within the private rented sector.
On this page:
If you are already renting from a private landlord and you feel your home is no longer suitable for your needs, or you are ready to live independently, you could consider looking for alternative private rented accommodation. You can do this through:
Please be aware of scams, especially through social media sites.
When speaking to a landlord or letting agent keep in mind that their priorities will be the rent being paid and the property being looked after. You will be promoting yourself as a tenant, as much as they will be promoting the home to you. Therefore:
Most landlords and letting agents will check to see what they think you can afford. This may include a credit check.
When renting directly from a landlord, you handle everything with them on your own. This can make it easier to agree a tenancy and raise or explain any issues, instead of a letting agent discussing this on your behalf. However, private landlords are not regulated unless they offer a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO). A HMO is a house with tenants who share communal areas. You can check with the local council if the property is licensed.
Before renting a property through a letting agent, you should:
Letting agents should not refuse you access to accommodation because you are claiming benefits. If you feel this is happening, please contact us at housing.advice@reading.gov.uk to report it. We can take action against a letting agent if it can be proved they are discriminating.
You may have to provide a guarantor before you are offered a tenancy if any of these apply:
The guarantor agrees to pay your rent if you fail to do so, and will need to sign an agreement accepting their responsibilities. It is likely that the guarantor will need to earn over a certain amount of money to qualify to be one.
There are two main types of tenancy agreements in the private rented sector; one for those who are residing in accommodation with the owner of the property, and a more common one for those living at a property without the owner.
The following provides information on the types of tenancy, notice periods and how and when they can be brought to an end.
This tenancy is the most common in the private rented sector and is for properties that do not have a resident landlord. This may be issued when you rent an entire property, or a room with shared communal areas. The AST must be for a term of 6 months or longer.
You should always receive a tenancy in writing. Both you, as a new tenant, and the landlord will need to sign this. The tenancy agreement should include:
If the fixed term of the AST has ended and a further tenancy for a fixed period has not been issued, you will become a periodic tenant.
If you want to end your tenancy agreement, you will likely have to provide a written notice, in line with the rent payments:
This is, unless there is a notice clause in your tenancy agreement that requires a minimum of 2 months notice. You may be able to negotiate the length of notice with your landlord.
If you have received a notice, you can access further advice on our homelessness pages. There are two ways for the landlord to end an AST:
Section 21 notice
This can be issued regardless of any breach of tenancy agreement, and as long as it has been served in the correct legal way. In this case, possession is granted to the landlord. This notice:
For the section 21 notice to be valid, the landlord must have carried out the following actions:
Section 8 notice
This can be issued when there has been a breach of the tenancy agreement, such as:
For the landlord to issue a section 8 notice they must:
Depending on the ground for possession stated in the notice, the landlord must give you either 2 weeks or 2 months notice. They will not be able to apply to the court for possession until this period has passed.
A licence is a personal permission for someone to occupy accommodation. This does not give the licensee a legal interest in any land or property. A licence can be for a fixed term of periodic and applies when:
You are likely to receive a licence, sometimes without a written agreement, for the following situations:
To end a licence agreement, the landlord should provide at least 28 days notice. That is unless there are concerns that involve a risk to you or your landlord if you were to remain in the property.
If you have been asked to leave, you can access further advice on our homelessness pages.
It is important for you to know the costs of living in private rented housing to make sure you plan your finances accordingly and are able to pay your rent.
It will be easier to manage your own private rented property if you have planned and saved for it. Renting accommodation can be expensive, but you may find cheaper options in other areas.
To secure a private rented property you should expect to pay:
This reserves a property and should only be paid if you are serious about accepting the property. There are situations where this money will not be refunded to you. If you sign the tenancy agreement, this deposit should be returned to you within 7 days, or you could decide to put this money towards the full deposit or rent in advance.
The landlord will retain this deposit for the duration of your tenancy agreement. They must protect this deposit in a recognised deposit protection scheme and provide you with written information on which scheme they have used. If they fail to protect your deposit, they will be unable to issue you with a Section 21 notice unless they return your deposit or give you new written information about the protection scheme they have used.
If you leave the property in good condition you should receive the deposit back in full. The landlord or letting agent will discuss this with you.
There is no limit to the amount of rent in advance a landlord could ask for. However, it is normal for this to be 1 month. You may be asked for more rent in advance if you are claiming benefits or do not pass a credit check.
You may already have furniture and essential items, however, these may not fit into your new home. Unless you are renting a fully furnished property or room, you should also add this to the list of expected expenses.
The amount you need to save will depend on the cost of the rent. Here are examples of the upfront costs and how these are calculated:
For tenancies that commenced after 1 June 2019, the landlord and letting agent cannot charge for things like:
If the landlord has charged you, and you have paid for a fee that has been banned, a Section 21 notice cannot be served until they refund your money.
Once you have moved in, you will be responsible for ongoing monthly costs of running your home. Unless specified as part of your rent, you might need to pay for the following items in addition to your monthly rent:
You may also have financial commitments like outstanding loans and subscriptions that you will need to budget for from your income.
There are resources online that you can access to help you budget for your new home.
There are different ways to save or secure funds for the upfront and ongoing costs of moving to private rented accommodation. Some of these are:
The current Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are:
| Size of property | Per month |
|---|---|
| Room in a shared house | £388.92 |
| 1 bedroom property | £792.83 |
| 2 bedroom property | £947.40 |
| 3 bedroom property | £1,146.86 |
| 4 bedroom property | £1,545.74 |
The LHA rates are used to calculate Housing Benefit for tenants renting from private landlords.