How to rent your first apartment

Renting your first apartment is an important step into adulthood. Having the opportunity to put your own personal stamp on a place to call your own can be incredibly exciting.

Aside from buying bedding and dinner sets, however, it can be hard to know where to start when renting your first place! To help you out, we at Magenta Self Storage have put together this guide on how to rent your first apartment.

Set a realistic budget

First things first, before starting to look to rent your first apartment, you need to have your finances in order to know what you can realistically afford. Along with the monthly rental fee, remember you will also need to cover ongoing costs such as a deposit, energy bills, council tax, home insurance, broadband, and more.

Calculate your monthly household income from your employment and any savings and investments you may have, and use this to help calculate the top end of your budget and the maximum rent you’re able to pay.

In property, for both rental and sales, location, location, location, is usually the main determining factor in price. So, your budget should be tailored around the average prices for the area(s) you’re hoping to rent. Certain parts of the UK are more expensive to live and rent in than others.

For instance, the median monthly rent for private properties in London between April 2021 and March 2022 was £1,450, whereas it was £795 for England overall, a significant difference in cost. If you need a little advice on how much you can expect to pay in rent in your desired location, it may be worth speaking to a local estate agent for some insights.

Devise criteria to help find your ideal rental property

Having your own criteria and a list of things that you’re particularly looking for in a property will help narrow down your searches. You may want to consider:

• The size of the property
• The combined cost of rent and deposit
• Number of bedrooms
• Outdoor space
• Location
• The amount of maintenance and upkeep required
• Council tax band
• The EPC rating – how energy efficient is it?
• Period of stay. How long can you rent it for? Could you extend if you wanted to?
• Nearby local facilities and amenities, such as parks, playgrounds, schools, leisure centres, and shops.
• The list goes on…!

Do you have any non-negotiables? For instance, do you definitely want a driveway? Do you have a household pet that you want to bring along with you on your experience of renting your first apartment? In that case, one of your key criteria may be to find a rental property arrangement which allows you to live with your pet.

In 2022, the government revealed a new plan with a common sense approach that means tenants must put in a written request to keep an animal in a rented property, and landlords must provide consent within 28 days, unless they have reasonable grounds to reject the request. This is good news for pet lovers out there hoping to live with furry friends in a rental pad!

Find a competent landlord or letting agent

Maintaining healthy levels of communication between tenants and landlords or letting agent personnel is important. Therefore, it’s a good idea to have your wits about you and do all you can to find a competent, helpful landlord or letting agent to rent from.

Most landlords will want to screen any potential tenants to ensure they are a good fit for their property – but remember, meeting a landlord is your chance to see whether they are a good fit for you too. The better the relationship with your landlord, the smoother your tenancy is likely to be.

There are now more rules in place to protect tenants from rogue landlords and there is a great deal of legislation that landlords must follow. The Tenancy Act introduced in 2019 means landlords and agents are no longer allowed to add extra fees for things outside the rent such as administration costs.

Storage considerations

Packing away your possessions can be one of the hardest aspects of moving home, logistically speaking. Have you accumulated lots of possessions over the years? You may wish to find somewhere to store them safely since you might not have enough space available in your first rented apartment, or perhaps you’re not quite sure where to put everything straight away.

Hiring self storage space is a great solution. At Magenta Self Storage, we offer practical storage solutions at storage units in the facilities at our 5 locations across the South and the Midlands (soon to be 6 with our Magenta Self storage site opening in Reading!).

The rental application process

You need to be cautious about what you’re signing up for, so read your written tenancy agreement carefully. What are your tenant rights and obligations stipulated in the agreement? Take advice from a trained professional before you sign anything if you have any notable concerns.

Make sure you take photos of the apartment to keep an inventory should any disputes arise around damage and fair wear and tear at the end of the tenancy. Remember to keep a copy of the agreement and inventory after signing on the dotted line.

You also need to bear your financial history in mind. Got a poor credit score? If so, it may be worth waiting 6 months or so before applying to rent somewhere. Landlords can be picky about accepting tenants with a poor recent financial history who may not present themselves as reliable to make rent each month.

Make yourself aware of your rights and responsibilities as a tenant

Take the time to learn all about your rights and responsibilities as a tenant.
Tenants are entitled to:

• Live in a property that’s safe and in a good state of repair
• Have your deposit returned when the tenancy ends
• Challenge overly high charges
• Know the name of your landlord
• Live in the property undisturbed
• See an Energy Performance Certificate for the property
• Protection against unfair eviction and rent arrangements
• Equally, there are certain responsibilities you must commit to as a tenant. Your tenant responsibilities include:
• Take good care of the property
• Pay the agreed rent in full and on time
• Pay any other charges agreed with the landlord, such as Council Tax and utilities
• Pay for the repair of any damage caused by you or your friends or family
• Your landlord accessing the property for inspection or repairs (your landlord must give you at least 24 hours’ notice and visit at a reasonable time).

You may wish to extend your tenancy after the initial fixed period, but you will need to talk this through and negotiate with your landlord. You may be able to get a rolling periodic tenancy. This means you carry on as before and extend your tenancy with no fixed term.

Moving out time

Before you move out, make sure you have paid any remaining rent that is due. You must also remember to leave the rental property in a respectable and clean state. Thoroughly clean the place before you leave so that it is in a liveable condition for the next tenants to move in immediately. Check there’s no damage caused to the property by looking at furniture, furnishings, and so on. Finally, it’s time to hand the keys back over to the landlord or agent!

Renting your first property is a major milestone, and you will enjoy many moments you won’t forget. Interested in hiring self storage space to help you along in this process? Contact Magenta Self Storage today by phoning us on 0115 896 6207 or sending an email to info@magentastorage.co.uk.