Q:Hi Guys

In a previous post I asked about purchasing my first house and was advised renting would be best at the moment due to my cicumstances. So i thought Id get some advice on the cost of renting. Two of us will be sharing the costs.

Ive done a list of the start up and monthly costs of renting

Start Up
4-8 weeks deposit – ￡600-￡1200
Admin Fee ￡90-￡300

Monthly

Rent – ￡600
Council Tax – ￡114
Contents Insurance – ?
Gas/Electric – ￡33
Water – ￡25
Food Shopping – ￡200
Sky – ￡34
Phone/Internet – ￡20
Service Charges – ?

Is there anything I am missing? Also are there any government schemes or initiatives that I can access to help with costs as Im on quite a low wage?

Thanks in advance,

Baz

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A:Monthly

Rent – ￡600

Council Tax – ￡114
Water – ￡25
Contents Insurance – ￡10-15/month between you
Gas/Electric – ￡33
TV License – ￡12/month
Phone/Internet – ￡20 – seems cheap to me, but maybe you have a cheap supplier.

Sky – ￡34

Food Shopping – ￡200 – I presume that is for 2, so ￡100/month each

I am assuming the flat is "furnished" so you aren't having to buy furniture/curtains etc
I don't know about sky/phone/internet – these charges/costs would change depending what sky packages you bought – and how you got your phone/internet (BT, cable, whatever)

Beyond that it's just what you will spend:
Travel to/from work
Social life
Holidays
Xmas, birthdays
New clothes/shoes
Stuff for the house immediately – bed linen, towels, plates, cookware
Stuff ongoing (non essential) – fluffy cushion you spotted, novelty items, cheery rugs

As a rough ballpark figure, I'd suggest the two of you look at basic household essential bills being ￡120/month each on top of the rent. Or ￡180 for one person to live alone.

But that wouldn't have included Sky costs as I've never had it nor would it be food costs.

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A:Two of us will be sharing the costs.

Also are there any government schemes or initiatives that I can access to help with costs as Im on quite a low wage?

Short answer is "No".

Because there are two of you.

If it was just you and if you were renting a whole property (which you would be) then if you were on minimum wage you could claim working tax credit – which would be worth about ￡15/month to you.

As there are two of you, then the household income is too great.

So to clarify my understanding: a single person living alone in their own self-contained accommodation and earning under about ￡13-14,000/year could make a Working Tax Credits claim and expect about ￡15/month.

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A:I agree with most of what Scrummy Mummy has posted, except comment about insuring the LL's possessions.

The deposit is primarily to protect against damage and of course if the odd thing goes missing at the end of the tenancy. However, if say you forgot to lock the front door and upon arriving home after a hard days work to find a thief has help him/her self to some or all of yours and the LL's stuff could you afford to replace said chattels?

I think you will find that the TA will have a clause stipulating that the tenant insures the LL' possessions as well as yours, so suggest you factor in the cost.

guy

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A:Thank you for the reply

Yeh i know I shouldn't be paying for a Sky and too be honest that'll be the first thing to go if were cutting costs, but whilst planning I thought id include it. Are agency fees different to Admin fees charged by the letting agents?

Baz

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A:You'll need to pay your first month's rent in advance so you'll need ￡600 PLUS the deposit of say ￡900 (usually a month and a half) = ￡1500 to sign the agreement.
Other costs to consider are:
Agency fees….ask a selection of agents what their fees are…ssome charge for all sorts of stuff others don't. Shop around.
Renewal fees…most charge to renew a tenancy agreement after the first 6 months. Again, ask their policy/fee structure on this.
Travel costs to and from work
Mobile phone bills
You shouldn't need to pay service charges, they SHOULD be included in your rent.
I have to say, at a personal level it staggers me that you have allocated ￡54 per month for Sky and broadband charges…you are on a low wage but prepared to pay ￡34 a month (plus any installation costs) just for TV?…get a freeview box and save youself some cash.
You don't need contents insurance, you need to insure your personal possessions….the contents don't belong to you. They belong to the landlord…your deposit is his 'insurance' against damage by you/your visitors during your tenancy. If you have your own furniture and stuff like fridges, this will probably change and mean you need contents insurance, if you don't just cover your personal possessions like clothes, stereos etc….it should be a lot cheaper.

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