Private renting

Renting privately can give you flexibility to choose where you want to live and in what type of property

Finding a property to rent

Ways to find private property to rent include:

  • asking people you know
  • reading local newspapers and magazines
  • looking in shop windows and noticeboards
  • searching websites such as Rightmove, Spareroom, Gumtree and Openrent

If you think you can’t afford to pay rent, you might be able to get some or all of your rent paid.

How much rent can you afford?

Most high street letting agents expect you to have an annual income of about 30 times the monthly rent.

So, if the monthly rent on a property is £1,000, you will need an annual income of £30,000.

If you don’t earn this much, you might need to pay rent in advance or have a guarantor.

What is a guarantor?

This is someone who agrees to pay your rent if you fail to pay it. For example, this might be your mum or dad or another close relative. 

Your landlord might want to check your guarantor can pay the rent if you can’t. For example, they might want to carry out a credit check.