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Find a property to rent

Find a property to rent

Finding a home in South Cambridgeshire's private rented housing market


Rented accommodation comes in different types:A person with a magnifying glass, examining a model house

  • Bed-sits
  • Flats
  • Houses
  • Shared flats or houses 

In some cases the house or flat may be:

  • Shared with the landlord (resident landlord). 
  • Shared with other tenants (Houses in Multiple Occupation)
  • managed by a letting agent or managing agent. 

Private rented homes are either furnished or unfurnished and rents vary accordingly.

Working out your housing need

It's essential that you choose accommodation that you need rather than what you necessarily want. This is even more important for anyone who relies on housing benefit, or the housing element of Universal Credit, under the Local Housing Allowance to pay their rent.

When working out what housing you need, we advise that you consider the following:

  • What type of accommodation would best suit your needs? studio/bedsit, house, flat or maisonette? You also need to decide what floor accommodation you would accept. For example, ground floor or first floor.
  • What property size do you need? See LHA bedroom rates for further details.

If a property has more bedrooms than allowed by your housing benefit, your benefit is likely to be reduced.

Where to search for a home

man online at homeOnce you know your housing need, you can begin to look for a potential home. There are a number of ways to do this:

  • Local newspapers - have a look in the special sections of local newspapers which advertise accommodation to let.
  • other ideas - There are other places where landlords will advertise their properties. These can include local shop windows, community noticeboards, supermarket noticeboards, and anywhere else where people may advertise.
  • letting agents - letting agents manage properties on behalf of private landlords so that they don't have to deal directly with the tenant
  • property search sites - These are websites such as Rightmove and Zoopla that landlords will often use to advertise their rental properties on.

What to do when you have found a property you like

View the property - Before you make a property your home, or sign any forms to say you will take it, be sure to visit and have a look at a property. What may seem perfect may be completely different when you actually view it. 

If you have any concerns, you are not obliged to take it, especially if you haven't signed anything, and you can refuse it and start looking again.

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