Here are the questions you need to ask before renting a property

Sorry scrawny dawn ... and this isn't a dig, but I just want to set the record straight on something. EVEN IF!!!!! You were to get pregnant irresponsibly this NOW doesn't mean you will be offered a council flat. This has long since changed and too right as often people were taking the (yellow bodily fluid). I just wanted people reading this thread to know that it has been made really difficult now to get a council property if pregnant. You will still be subject to a rigerous panel of questioning and possibly placed into hostels.. not only that but you will more often than not be offered Private renting as a route. Most landlords now just want mortgages paid and so will pass over anyone who is going to claim housing benefit as it takes so long to organise it for someone who has available funds to just rent privately from their own wages. It's a sad state of affairs that the govenrment don't make it a blanket policy to educate people and SET THEM STRAIGHT about the housing market and the facts regarding the impact on social housing... but I just thought that I would put in my 2 pence worth having worked in this sector for 12 years. If you have a child there is a statutory right to house the child.. not you, however you and your child will be placed on a waiting list and the length of this list in some boroughs is shoking!!!!! It's enough for this to be a deterrant for anyone hoping to get get pregnant and get a flat (temporary accommodation is not a nice route) my advice if you can help it and there are options out there DO NOT get pregnant if you have not the means to even house yourself.. yet alone an inocent child. I have a friend who has done this very thing and it makes me sad that she didn't check her facts ... just because you can have children in this day and age if your roof is not secure why put a child through this unsettlement. I am not judging I just find it hard to understand not planning when we have such amazing contraception options and so much information out there. In any case I just wish her all the best but options for people on low incomes or no jobs are running out very quickly. I remember when rent deposits were very easy to obtain you didn't even need to have a support need. Scrawny dawn you make some great points and I wish you all the best.

@ krustallos [B]"Landlords at least tend to be zero hassle as long as you pay your rent."[/B] I'm afraid I have no sympathy for landlords and you're absolutely right in that they want minimal hassle - and work - for what they do. [B]"It's odd though that people begrudge renting a home in a way that they would never begrudge renting a car or a TV. I wonder why that is?"[/B] Given what I wrote I didn't think that needed an explanation, but since you asked here's an hypothetical example of Buy-To-Let parasitism at work: A BTL'er buys a cheap house in a run-down area. He rents it out. Shortly afterwards the government decides that the local school is failing and so spends money (raised in taxes from everyone (including the tenant)) upgrading the school and employing better teachers. That now puts the rental in the catchment area of a much better school. As a result of this what do you think happens to: (a) The 'value' of the house (really the value of the land)? (b) The amount of rent that the BTL'er can charge? Moving on lets now assume that the district and local councils, in partnership with the government, decide to improve the area. They spend, money from taxes on better policing, improving the roads, improving the town centre, improving public transport and in general improving the area. Now that's happened what do you think happens to: (a) The 'value' of the house (really the value of the land)? (b) The amount of rent that the BTL'er can charge? Now that the community has added additional value to the land who profits? You can of course argue that it's the tenant because they actually live there but then they're already paying for it though their taxes. So why then should they then pay you? You didn't contribute significantly to the improvements and yet you benefit from the work of others in that you can now charge more rent and sell your BTL for more money. It's as if everyone else works but you profit. [B]"the problem is that we used to have a very large not-for-profit housing sector in this country and that has been decimated (at great expense to the taxpayer) by the right-to-buy scheme."[/B] Thatcher brought in some very damaging privatisations, amongst which were to privatise the social housing system and to privatise the land wealth created by and paid for by taxpayers. [B]”People who could have hoped for a council home are now forced into the private market, whether renting or buying, and that has pushed prices up to insane levels.”[/B] I think you'll find the removal of Schedule 'A' taxation (which most of the Boomers seem to have conveniently forgotten about) did most of that damage. [B]”If the government enabled councils to build again on a serious scale, we could fix the housing crisis, push house prices back to a reasonable level”[/B] Not going to happen. For starters Grant “Status Quo” Schapps would never support it. Secondly it would be an eventual BTL-fest. [B]”and perhaps even get out of this double-dip recession - which at this point appears to be largely down to a fall in construction orders.”[/B] That's an odd thing to say. Tail comes first? The recession we're currently experiencing is because people took on too much debt, and that is almost completely because some people paid to much for their housing while others re-mortgaged to the hilt. In fact it's almost funny, time and time again we see housing led boom and bust and during this cycle we have the added factor of an incompetent Bank of England, which kept interest rates far too low for far too long. Now they're keeping interest rates far too low because at 3.6% inflation isn't high enough and there's not enough M3 money (all cash, bank deposits and [B]debt[/B]) in the system. And I'm sure this makes sense to someone, hey Mr Osborne?

I rent privately and this is the first time I have rented through a mangement company that are a well known estate agent and I must say it is best to rent direct from the landlord if possible not only did I have to pay £300 in finders fees (and I found the property myself) but have been disappointed with the service the flat I have is ideal but the finish is shoddy. I have requested to change the taps (very shoddy and marked) and the door handles (covered in paint as they couldnt be bothered to wipe their hands when painting) at my own expense but the landlord has said no - no reason given. I also requested that I was allowed to go to a water meter as this would have saved me money and will be compulsory soon but he also turned down that request. Though I understand it is his flat but it is my home. Definately my next flat will be with direct with the landlord and one that is open to me making slight changes that benefit his property. I did try and get a council flat but as these are now classed as social housing and I have no needs I have no chance - unless I get pregnant irresponsively. All I want is a place to rent long term that I can make my home - in this climate I have no chance also have to admit being a northerner the cost of renting down South (Bracknell to be exact) is very high but what other option is there. I am lucky I have a reasonably good job but how does someone with a family and a average paid job cope