π Home & family Β· Guide
First Flat
Viewing, signing, moving in and the first month, in order
First Flat
Viewing, signing, moving in and the first month, in order
Your name
A4 Β· this is a layout preview in the βTerminalβ design. When you generate, the studio writes every chapter in full, paints the cover and chapter art, and composes a downloadable A4 PDF with your name, bio and store link on it.
Renting your first place involves about a dozen decisions that are easy to get right if you know they are coming and expensive if you do not. This guide walks through them in the order they arrive, from the twenty minutes you get at a viewing to the end of your first month. It is written for renting in the UK.
What's inside
- 1The viewing: what to check in twenty minutesYou work through a fixed list covering damp, water pressure, windows, heating, storage and noise, in the short time an agent gives you. After this chapter you have the list on your phone and know which two findings should end the viewing early.
- 2The contract, the deposit and the feesYou read the tenancy agreement for the clauses that matter, check the deposit is going into a government-approved protection scheme, and learn which fees a landlord or agent is allowed to charge. After this chapter you know what to ask before you sign anything.
- 3Inventory day: photograph everythingYou go through the inventory carefully and take dated photographs of every mark, stain and broken fitting before you unpack a single box. This chapter explains exactly what to record and where to send it so it counts later.
- 4What to buy in week one, and what to wait forYou buy the short list that makes a flat liveable and deliberately postpone the rest until you know how you use the space. After this chapter you have a first-week list, a month-two list and a rough cost for each.
- 5Bills, meters and the admin hourYou set up energy, water, broadband, council tax and contents insurance in one sitting, with meter readings taken on day one. The chapter covers who to tell, when payments start, and the single-occupant council tax discount.
- 6Living there: the first monthYou settle the practical rhythms of a place you are responsible for, from reporting repairs properly to keeping the flat dry in winter. After this chapter you know how to raise a problem in writing and what your landlord must fix.
A sample from chapter one
Turn on the taps and open the windows
Agents show flats quickly and in the best light of the day, so you have to be systematic. Run the hot tap in the kitchen and the shower at the same time and count how long the water takes to heat. Open every window and shut it again, because a window that does not close is a cold flat and a slow repair. Look behind furniture and under the sink.
Damp is the finding that should end a viewing. Check the corners of external walls, the ceiling above the shower and the sealant round the bath, and be suspicious of a room that smells strongly of fresh paint or air freshener. Ask what heats the flat, ask to see a recent energy bill, and ask what the neighbours are like above and below.
- Run the shower and kitchen tap together to test pressure and how quickly the water heats.
- Open and close every window, and check the corners of external walls for damp.
- Ask for the EPC rating and a recent energy bill before you decide on the rent.
- Check mobile signal in each room, and where the meters and stopcock are.
Key takeaways
- Twenty minutes is enough to spot most serious problems if you arrive with a list.
- Damp and failing windows cost more over a winter than a slightly higher rent elsewhere.
- Anything the landlord agrees to fix should be written into the agreement before you sign.
The studio writes every chapter from this outline, paints the art and hands you a PDF you can sell the same afternoon.
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