Tips to help tenants move into their first rental home
Tamara Price, Lettings Manager, shares a few tips to help first-time tenants move into their very first rented home...
Moving into your very first home can be a mixture of incredible excitement, stress and nerves all rolled into one. In many cases people rent their first home, and whether it's your first time living alone, with friends or with a new partner, moving into a new property for the first time is a significant milestone in your life. Making sure things work out and that everything runs as smoothly as possible between you and your new landlord can be easily achieved with plenty of prior planning and preparation, and this will go a long way towards ensuring your experience in your first home is as enjoyable as possible.
It's great if the tenant and the landlord can get off on the right foot by making a positive first impression on each other. As expected, landlords appreciate good tenants and are far more inclined to grant requests if they have a good track record and prove to be friendly and trustworthy.
Below you'll find a few tips that you may want to take on board when it comes to moving into your first rental home.
Maintain honest and clear communication
The key to making a great first impression and maintaining a positive relationship with the landlord throughout the tenancy is open communication. Any questions that you may have before you move in or during the tenancy, things that worry you or information you believe your landlord should be aware of should be communicated to them. The landlord is likely to appreciate your communicative approach and it will show that you respect their property and want to avoid misunderstandings.
Understand your lease
You can avoid future conflicts by thoroughly reading through the lease beforehand to make sure you completely understand everything and are happy with what's detailed in it. If there are any queries you can raise them immediately. Fully understanding the lease will not only reduce the chances of accidentally violating the contract but will also allow for any potential issues to be ironed out before the deal is signed. Many landlords will be happy to discuss the terms of the contract before it is signed and may look at possibilities of amending the details to suit specific tenant requirements.
Pay rent on time
The most basic rule of being a good tenant and the main thing any landlord is going to appreciate is the payment of rent on time, in full, every time. No landlord wants to be hunting down their tenants to chase rent payment, so it's important that a system is put in place to make sure this doesn't happen, such as setting up a direct debit and ensuring the funds are available every month.
Be respectful of the property and any common areas
The day you move into a property you expect it to be clean and well maintained, so you should be looking to maintain this standard until the day you move out. You may only be renting the home, but you should be treating it as if it was your own, especially if you want any deposit eventually returned with no issues. The best way to achieve this is through being respectful to the property at all times - keep the home in order with regular cleaning and reporting of anything that may need to be repaired during your stay. The same goes for common areas if you happen to live in flats or an apartment. Don't leave your things scattered in any shared spaces such as hallways or gardens and contribute to their maintenance where possible. This will not only score points with the landlord but also with any neighbours.
Remember, establishing and maintaining a great relationship with the landlord will benefit you in many ways. It will help make your first rental experience a peaceful and enjoyable one, allow you to understand what is expected from a landlord and vice versa, improve your chances of receiving your deposit back in full, and will provide you with someone to call on should you need a reference in the future.
If you'd like help sourcing your ideal first home, or are perhaps simply looking to change property for your own reasons or change of circumstances then don't hesitate to contact our expert lettings team here at CPS Homes. You're welcome to call us on 02920 668585, e-mail enquiries@cpshomes.co.uk or pop into one of our three Cardiff branches.
