With house prices sky-rocketing, renting has become the ultimate choice for most of the people. Renting is also a temporary measure for people working away from home during the week.

Many people today live as someone’s lodger. To become someone’s lodger is one of the simplest and cheapest way to rent a place to live. However in this kind of renting, you share the room with another person. For many people sharing the room with a total stranger can be quite a challenging experience.

If you are planning to rent a lodge and are trying to avoid unknown room mates, ask friends, colleagues and neighbours if they know of anyone who is interested in letting out a room in their home or has an unoccupied granny flat. Other ways to find a room for rent are office notice-board and small advertisements in local newspapers.

You generally pay one month’s rent in advance when you rent directly from the landlord. In case of renting a self-contained property, you need to pay a deposit in addition to one month’s rent. The self-contained property charges the deposit to cover any damage that you may inflict on the property or non-payment of rent. However, the deposit is returned in full when you leave the property without any damage.

Therefore before paying the deposit or monthly rental in advance, ensure that you are given an accurate inventory of all furniture and other items belonging to the property. Also check the conditions of the same before you move in. In case, the landlord forgets to prepare the inventory list, it is advised to take the initiative yourself and get it signed from him/her.

The rent includes council tax and water rates (excluding cost of gas, electricity and telephone calls). If you are unaware of tenant’s rights you are advised to update yourself as the letting agents and the landlords will always look for a chance and take shortcuts to save and earn themselves money.

After you are done with the dealing and settled into your new abode you can relax and feel comfortable. No one can barge in without notice. However, a landlord has the right to reasonable access to carry out repair works. Even for this the landlord has to take your permission and give you at least 24 hours notice for the same.

Finding a property
The type of place you are looking to rent depends upon your circumstances. For instance, if you’re a young professional you will prefer to rent a house, instead of buying a property. If you are a student you will go for a place without home cooked food, where fast foods are easily available.

But if you prefer a self- contained flat or are looking for the cheaper option of simply renting a room, it’s important to make sure that the place is right for you before you commit. Same applies for buying a property.

You are also advised to visit the property at least twice at different times of the day, including rush hours. This will help you find the problems before you finally decide to rent the property. Check out whether the area is quiet or noisy and the type of people living in the area. Find out whether you feel comfortable in that locality. See for transport facility. See how far the grocery shop, local shop, supermarkets and school is. Find out whether your property is in good condition and has easy parking facility or not. Never forget to enquire about the council tax. Finally ask yourself whether the property is worth the rent.