Renting from a private landlord

image of a tenancy agreement

With house prices at an all time high, and demand far exceeding supply for social housing in the Breckland district, more and more people are renting from private landlords. The section below gives you a guide through the possibilities and pitfalls of renting privately.

Click on the links below for further information:

You can also download our leaflet 'Renting from a Private Landlord' by clicking this link.

Finding a home to rent

If you are interested in renting a home look in local papers and contact property agents. The internet is also useful as there are several popular websites advertising homes for rent. Agents may charge a fee for their services so ask first. Local ‘free ad’ papers are also worth a look, as are local shops who carry postcard advertisements. If you are wanting to rent in Breckland but don’t live here at present, some papers will arrange for copies to be sent to you for a small charge, or you could ask a newsagent about this.

You may wish to consider advertising yourself as a potential tenant. You may get noticed by people who are thinking about renting rooms or a property but who have not advertised yet, or by landlords whose adverts you have not seen.

Ask around at work, at your children’s schools, at clubs, pubs or churches you belong to, and don’t forget your friends. Many people find somewhere to rent though word of mouth.

We have recently set up a lodgings register in partnership with Solo Housing, an independent organisation which matches landlords with potential lodgers for short or long term arrangements. Find out more by clicking on the link above.

Contacts for property agents in the Breckland district can be found in our ‘Useful Contacts’ section.

Costs & Affordability

Before you start looking for a home to rent it is a very good idea to work our how much you can afford to pay. As well as the rent charge, consider how much Council Tax might be (you can get some idea of this by contacting our Council Tax department), utility bills, food, transport to school, work and shopping trips. TV licence, loans and other credit repayments should also be considered.

A good way to do this is to write down all your income and likely expenditure, and see how much you have left for rent.

If you are renting a room or rooms in someone’s home or a shared house, check how much you will be expected to pay towards the bills.

You may wish to consider renting with friends to make a property more affordable for you.

If you are claiming benefits or are on a low income you may receive some help with your rent and Council Tax charges. You can find out the maximum Housing Benefit you could get by contacting the Council's Housing Benefit Department for the Local Housing Allowance rate for the area in which you are seeking accommodation (this depends upon your household composition which determines the maximum number of rooms you can have).

You will usually have to pay one month’s rent and a refundable deposit (usually equivalent to one month’s rent or more) before you can move into a property. Breckland Council operates a Rent & Deposit Loan Scheme for those households who are threatened with homelessness , which may help you with these charges. Your landlord is required to secure your deposit using one of three schemes. For more information, visit our Tenancy Deposit Protection page.

Some property agents will charge for finding you a property, and may also charge for carrying out credit checks. These amounts are not usually refundable, so check with your agent before you commit.

If you take on a property that you cannot afford, and subsequently get into rent arrears, the Council may have a very limited duty to help you. It is very important that you know a property will be affordable to you before you take on the tenancy.

Tenancy Agreements

The most common tenancy agreement used by landlords renting houses or flats is an Assured Shorthold tenancy. They normally run for a ‘fixed term’ of 6 or 12 months initially. They were introduced by the Housing Act 1988, but important changes were made by the Housing Act 1996.

A tenancy will not be an Assured Shorthold tenancy if the tenancy began before 15 January 1989, it is a business or holiday let, no rent or a very low or high rent is charged, or you are renting rooms from a resident landlord (someone who lives in the same property).

If you rent a property on an Assured Shorthold tenancy your landlord can regain possession after the expiry of the fixed term. In practice, many landlords are happy to rent out properties for periods of several years, and you do not need to sign a new tenancy agreement once the fixed term expires for your rights to remain significantly unchanged. Once the fixed term expires your tenancy will automatically turn into a ‘Statutory Periodic’ tenancy. The one advantage of signing a new agreement once your initial one expires is that your landlord cannot normally regain possession of the property within the fixed term unless you have breached your tenancy agreement. Please note; however, that if you have signed an assured shorthold tenancy but origonally moved in before 15th January 1989, you may have a different sort of tenancy which gives you greater protection than you would otherwise have. For information about this, contact our Housing Advice Team. See our ‘Housing Advice’ section for further details.

If you are renting from a resident landlord your rights are much more limited. You do not have the right to challenge the amount of rent you have agreed to pay, you can be given less notice to leave if the landlord wishes to end the letting, and in some circumstances you can be evicted by the landlord at the end of the notice if you refuse to leave. However, renting room(s) in someone’s home is often cheaper than renting a self contained property, and can be a way to rent in an area where you cannot afford to buy or rent self-contained properties. It can also be useful if you only want to stay for a short time, but discuss this with your landlord first.

There are other types of tenancy, such as licences to occupy and those for accommodation provided with employment. For information and advice about these, contact our Housing Advice team.

Landlord’s Rights and Responsibilities

Broadly speaking, landlords have responsibility for the following areas:

Repairs to the structure and exterior of the property
Repairs to baths, sinks and other sanitary installations
Repairs to and maintenance of heating and hot water installations
If you are renting a flat, other parts of the building or installations which the landlord controls and whose disrepair would affect the tenant.
Safety of gas and electrical appliances (an annual gas safety check must be carried out by a CORGI registered tradesman)
Fire safety of furniture and furnishings
Whatever else is agreed in the contractual arrangement (tenancy agreement)
To allow tenants the ‘quiet enjoyment’ of their tenancy

Please note – landlords are not liable for repairs caused by tenant’s failure to look after the property, or through wilful damage caused by the tenant or people for whom the tenant is responsible (such as children or visitors).

Landlord’s have the right of access to their properties, but must give 24 hours written notice to their tenant unless there is an emergency.

Tenant’s Rights and Responsibilities

Broadly speaking, tenants have the responsibility for the following areas:

Paying rent and any agreed service charges
Paying Council Tax (if self contained. If landlord is resident they may make a charge towards this)
Paying water and sewerage charges
Paying other bills, such as electricity and/or gas
Taking good care of the property and using it in a responsible way
Whatever else is in the contractual agreement |(tenancy agreement)

Tenants have the right to ‘quiet enjoyment’ of their property. Landlords must ask permission before they enter the property.

Problems

If you are experiencing problems with your landlord and cannot resolve the situation in an amicable way, seek professional advice.

Our Housing Advisory Officers can offer advice and assistance and may be able to act on your behalf with your landlord.

Our Private Sector Housing Team can offer advice and assistance and have enforcement powers to ensure landlords carry out their obligations. See our section on ‘Private Sector Housing’ for more details.

For more details on specific problems, see our section on ‘Housing Advice’ or contact a Housing Advisory Officer.

Ending a tenancy

If your landlord has advised you they wish you to leave, see our Housing Advice’ section.

If you wish to end the tenancy and move out, you can do so at any time. However, if you have an Assured Shorthold tenancy and wish to move out before the expiry of the fixed term, you can only do so if your landlord agrees, or there is a ‘break clause’ in the tenancy agreement. If this is not the case, strictly speaking you would be liable for the rent due until the expiry of the fixed term, however, this does not normally mean you would have to pay the full amount, as your landlord has a responsibility to try to cover his or her losses in other ways, most commonly by reletting the accommodation. If you can find someone to take over your tenancy you can ‘assign’ it, to which the landlord cannot unreasonably object.

If the tenancy has no fixed term, or the fixed term has expired, you must give the landlord reasonable notice in writing of your intention to leave. You must give at least 4 weeks’ notice if you pay your rent weekly, and at least one month’s notice if you pay rent monthly.

If you give notice to end your tenancy but do not move out, your landlord can seek an Order for Possession through the County Court without the need to serve a separate notice to you.

If you are renting from a resident landlord you must give ‘reasonable notice’ that you are leaving. There are some circumstances under which fixed notice must be given. For further details contact a Housing Advisory Officer.

Downloads

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Renting from a Private Landlord (PDF Document, 807Kb)