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Renting and letting

The following organisations offer general advice and guidance on renting and letting

• Directgov, the government's gateway to a range of public services and government information, provides information on renting or letting out a property; including an introduction to your rights to who's responsible for what.
• Citizen's Advice Bureaux provide free, confidential and independent advice. Use the online search facility to find your nearest office. Alternatively, use the online Housing Advice Guide.
• Shelter is is an expert in housing law and our advisers have years of experience helping all types of people find and keep a home. Shelter's Advice online provides advice on finding accommodation, help with housing costs and renting privately.
• Channel 4's HOMES.
• Connexions Direct offers information and advice to those aged 13 - 19. There are a number of Connexions Partnerships in London. Use the online search to find your nearest Connexions Centre. You can also find advice online renting a house.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s (ODPM) provides a number of booklets for landlords and tenants that offer information on

• Assured and assured shorthold tenancies: a guide for tenants
• Assured and assured shorthold tenancies: a guide for landlords
• Do you rent, or are you thinking of renting, from a private landlord?
• Repairs
• My landlord wants me out: protection against harassment and illegal eviction
• Letting your home
• Letting rooms in your home: a guide for resident landlords
• Notice that you must leave: a brief guide for landlords and tenants
• Regulated tenancies
• Renting rooms in someone's home
• Landlord accreditation

Renting privately

Whether you are looking to rent a self contained flat or house, or just a room, there are many ways to find a home to rent. Besides word of mouth, noticeborads and classified advertisements in local newspapers and publications such as Loot, you may opt to go to a letting agency.

Accommodation and letting agencies are listed in the Yellow Pages. There are rules about how agencies operate and what they can charge tenants for. They are not allowed to charge you just to register or for supplying addresses and details of accommodation.

Whilst some agencies don't charge tenants at all, its not unusual for charges to be made for drawing up tenancy agreements or for administrative costs. Remember that letting agencies act on behalf of landlords, not tenants.

• Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) was formed in 1981 as the professional and regulatory body for letting agents in the UK. Whether you are looking to rent a new property or let your current home, you can find your nearest agent using the online search facility.
• National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) is dedicated to the goal of professionalism within high street estate agency.

Advertisement for rented accommodation will give you a good idea of how you can expect to pay. For a comparison of how costs vary acroos London, see the Private Sector Rents Bulletin. This report, published by the Greater London Authority, provides a snapshot of private sector rents in individual boroughs and Greater London.

Landlord a ccreditation schemes lay down a set of standards relating to the management or physical condition of privately rented accommodation. Landlords who join such schemes and abide by the standards are 'accredited'. Accreditation schemes are voluntary. Most schemes are run by local authorities - usually the housing or environmental health department.

• The National Approved Letting Scheme is an accreditation scheme for lettings and management agents offering peace of mind to landlords and tenants in knowing that they are dealing with a firm which agrees.

Renting from a social landlord

If you think that you may be eligible for council or housing association accommodation, you should contact your local authority and ask for an application form for the housing register. Housing associations do not normally allocate their homes to people directly. However, you may also wish to contact local housing associations to find out if they have separate waiting lists.

Once you have completed your application, the council or housing association will assess your situation. The amount of priority that you get for housing is based on this assessment. Most waiting lists use a points scheme to measure your housing need. If you are homeless you may be given extra priority.

Moving

If you are a tenant of a local authority or housing association and you want to move house, you may find the following helpful

• HOMES helps local authority and housing association tenants move between landlords throughout the UK
• HOMESWAP is a mutual exchange scheme for local authority and housing association tenants across the UK
• Seaside and Country Homes offers new start for people over 60 living in social housing in London
• Available homes provides information on homes for all of the above options along with social sector properties advertised for rent, exchange and low cost home ownership.
• Council-Exchange
  Advertise and reply in the Exchange list for Free. Exchanges to anywhere in the Country.

Making a complaint

• Complaints about public housing (i.e. councils or local authorities) have to be made to the Local Government Ombudsman.
• The Independent Housing Ombudsman Scheme is available to all residents in homes managed by a landlord or agent who belongs to the Service. All registered social landlords (housing associations) in England are included, as are some private landlords and management agents. You can search the members database.

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