Rental Rights;
finding a place to rent
By the end of this section, you will:
- Know where to look for somewhere to rent
- Know what you and the landlord need to have in place
- Understand the main points of the Occupation Contract
Finding a place to rent in Newport
To find somewhere to rent in Newport, you need to find a: Letting Agency or Landlord who is registered and licensed to let property.
Use this link to check if a landlord or property is licensed:
Check the public register
Success Criteria:
- Rent Smart Wales registration and licence (essential)
- Adequate properties available in your area (essential)
- Mention of tenants on web site (desirable)
- Quality mark e.g. Propertymark members (desirable)
What the landlord or agent needs...
If these things aren’t in place, do NOT continue – it will cause problems later on.
Rent Smart Wales registration and licence
Every landlord in Wales needs to be registered with Rent Smart Wales. The landlord or Letting Agency who manages the property also needs to have a licence.
As part of the licensing criteria, landlords and agents have to:
- Have a professional indemnity insurance
- Be a member of a property redress scheme
- For agents – have Client Money Protection
If they have their Rent Smart Wales licence, you know all this is in place.
Homes that are adequate
This is called Fit For Human Habitation: there are 29 things that need to be put in place that includes things like hot running water and no mould.
Deposit Protection
You will pay a deposit when you start renting. It can’t be more than 5 weeks’ rent, and it must be put into an official scheme.
How do we know these things are in place?
Rent Smart Wales Registration and Licence
Check the Public Register.
Additional checks on Letting Agents can be done on this Shelter Cymru page.
Rent Smart Wales registration and license
Deposit Protection
Landlords and agents need to use one of these three schemes.
Homes that are adequate
Use the Fit for Human Habitation checklist which can be downloaded here. You can get more information from Shelter Cymru and Environmental Health.
If you come across a rogue landlord while searching for a place to rent, record the evidence if you can, an report them to the council immediately: Report a rogue landlord
... and what you need
Landlords and agents have referencing processes, they include checking the following things:
REMEMBER: Help is available if you don't yet have all these things in place
Proof of identity and income
You will need valid, in date ID, and documents showing where your money comes from. This will show that you can afford the rent.
Here are some of the documents you can use for this.
Deposit plus one months rent
This is sometimes called a ‘damage waiver’. It will be kept until the end of your tenancy. At that point, it can be used to pay for any damage to the property (e.g. stained carpets).
There is help if you cannot save up for a deposit.
References
Most landlords ask for a reference from your current or previous landlord. If you don’t have this, you could provide one from your employer or a support worker.
If you can’t get one from a landlord, try your employer or support worker.
Guarantor and credit history
Landlords and letting agencies often ask for these – but not always. If you have poor credit, it is best to be honest about this.
It shouldn’t cost to get a credit check. Find out how to check your credit score for free on Money Saving Expert.
Other important points when searching
Rent in advance
Some landlords or letting agents may ask for 3, 6 or 12 months’ rent in advance. Whilst this is not illegal, it should be clear why they are asking for this. It should also be written into the contract. Disabled people are more likely to be asked for rent in advance compared with non-disabled people, so beware of discrimination with this. Rent in advance is different to your deposit.
Guarantor schemes and deposit schemes
You may come across these online. Some letting agencies may offer a particular scheme and may try to get you to sign up. They work by asking you to pay a monthly fee for your deposit, instead of a lump sum at the beginning. Or, you pay a monthly fee instead of having a guarantor. This may seem like a good deal, but you pay the fee for the whole of your tenancy, and you do not get your money back at the end. So, you will almost certainly end up paying more than if you just paid the deposit initially.
Blind Bids
Sometimes, a letting agency or a landlord will invite people to say how much they would like to rent the property for. The person with the highest bid wins the right to rent property. We do not recommend being involved with blind bids, because they almost always result in higher rent being paid.
This is a website which enables tenants to find out more information about a landlord or letting agency before renting from them. You can check if the landlord or agency has been reviewed, and get more information about your rights as a renter.
Viewing and Bidding
Prior to viewing
If you find somewhere you can afford and that is suitable for you, follow it up immediately. There is a lot of competition – places do not stay on the market for long. Call the letting agent or landlord and ask if you can view the house / flat. It is a good idea to let them know at this point that you satisfy all the criteria needed to rent the property.
At this point, the landlord or agent should not:
- Ask for any payments – viewings should be free.
- Ask you any personal questions – such as where you are from, or your ethnicity.
- Ask if you are receiving benefits. It is discriminatory to refuse someone based solely on this.
- Ask you for a Right to Rent check – this scheme does not apply in Wales.
Questions to ask when viewing the property
How often do you carry out property inspections?
Are you a member of any membership bodies, such as Propertymark?
How do you support tenants if there is a problem?
How do you protect my deposit?
How do you keep in touch with your tenants?
Can you tell me about your referencing process?
What is the property’s EPC rating?
Do you have an internal complaints procedure?
What is your policy on rent increases?
Do you know the neighbours?
Referencing Process
Identifying Discrimination in the Referencing Process
Sometimes, people can experience discrimination when looking for somewhere to rent. This means that they are treated worse than other people because of a certain characteristic.
The characteristics that are protected by law are:
With renting, discrimination could mean that someone can’t find a place to live. It could also be very distressing and stressful.
Research shows that:
- Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people are all less likely to be offered the chance to view or rent somewhere in the Private Rented Sector, compared with White people.
- Disabled people are more likely to be asked for a guarantor, even if they pass the affordability check.
- Many landlords are unwilling to let to people who get benefits, even if they pass the affordability check.
- People who have moved to the UK from abroad (especially if they are a Refugee) are more likely to be offered properties that are in poor condition – or not to be offered any at all – even if they pass the affordability check.
All of these things are discrimination, which is illegal.
Below you will see some common examples of discriminatory language.
Remember, landlords and agents are allowed to carry out affordability checks and referencing checks. This is because they need to make sure you are able to manage the tenancy by paying the rent and bills, and looking after the property. But they are not allowed to choose people or turn people away based on certain characteristics. And, they are not allowed to have any ‘blanket bans’ – refusing whole groups of people because of one thing (e.g. ‘no-one on benefits’).
Shelter Cymru have set up an online toolkit for reporting benefits discrimination in private renting. At the bottom of this page, you will find the links on how to report and get support for all types of discrimination.
The Occupation Contract
This is a very important legal document. It explains what you and the landlord have agreed. You must have one within 14 days when you start to rent somewhere. You must read it and understand the main points. It is a contract, so you must stick to it – and so must your landlord. If you break the terms of your contract, you could be evicted. The Occupational Contract is about 42 pages long. This may seem a lot, but if you think about the contract for a mobile phone – which is a much smaller item than a house – this makes sense!
Terms in an occupational contract
Key matters:
- Your name and your landlord’s name
- The Address of the Property
- The Occupation Date
- The Amount of Rent
- Rental Period (Whether the rent is payable weekly or monthly)
Fundamental Terms:
- how you can be evicted
- the landlord’s responsibilities to keep the property fit to live in
- the landlord’s responsibilities to repair certain things
- how the landlord must deal with a deposit
Additional Terms:
- whether you can keep pets
- anything else specific to the property such as parking.
The Inventory
- This is a list / description of what is in the property when you move in, and the condition.
- You can ask for it to be changed if you don’t agree with it.
- Make sure you are happy with it before signing the contract.
- It is recommended to take photos as evidence of the condition of the property when you move in.
- The inventory helps if there are problems later on.
Before You Sign
- Have I read the whole contract and understood the main points?
- Have I been honest about everything, including my financial situation?
- Am I happy with the Occupation Contract, the Inventory and the property?
- If I am not happy with something, have I told the landlord / agent and tried to come to an agreement
- If I need a Reasonable Adjustment, have I told the landlord / letting agent about my needs?
- Do I know how to keep in touch with the landlord / agent going forward?
- Am I clear on what is expected of me for this particular property? For example, with repairs and maintenance?
- Do I need to check anything with Citizen’s Advice or Shelter Cymru before I sign?
Ongoing Support
You may encounter barriers or problems at this stage of the renting process.
Perhaps you don’t have the right documents, or you cannot find anywhere you can afford.
You may think you have been discriminated against, or treated unfairly in the search process.
Help is available – and remember, if you are sofa-surfing, in insecure housing, or in an overcrowded home, you could be eligible for support from the council.
Barrier
I can’t find anywhere I can afford.
Action
Contact the Newport City Council Housing Advice and Prevention Team at the central Library
I’ve passed affordability but have been told I’ve failed the referencing checks.
Ask for feedback from landlords/agents and record reasons for refusals. Visit a Housing Advice Surgery to discuss your situation.
I think I have been discriminated against.
Report to Rent Smart Wales, Gwent Police, Shelter Cymru and Race Equality First.
I think I have experienced a hate crime.
Report to Gwent Police and/ or Victim Support.
