Renting your first place: the money nobody warns you aboutRenting · 5 minute readThe rent is the number you were told. The deposit, the fees, the bills and the first shop are the numbers nobody mentioned. Budget for all of it.Moving out looks affordable right up until the second week, when the first council tax instalment leaves and you realise the rent was only ever part of the bill.What you pay before you get the keys

A deposit, refundable in principle, usually equivalent to several weeks' rent.

The first month's rent in advance.

A holding deposit in some cases, which should come off the rent if the tenancy goes ahead.

Removals, or simply getting your stuff there.

What you pay every month

Rent, on the day it is due — late payment is the fastest way to damage a reference you will need for the next place.

Council tax, usually in ten instalments rather than twelve, so the last two months of the year cost more than you expect. Check whether you qualify for a single person discount.

Energy, water and internet, in whatever combination your tenancy does not cover.

A TV licence if you watch or record live television, including on a streaming service.

What you pay onceThe first shop is expensive in a way nobody believes until they do it. Kettle, bedding, cooking things, cleaning things, a bin. Budget for a real number here rather than discovering it.Protect yourself before you sign

Photograph everything on the day you move in and email the photos to yourself, so they are dated.

Read what the deposit is protected by. In England, the standard protection schemes are a legal requirement for most tenancies.

Get every repair request in writing. A phone call is not a record.

Keep your rent payment reference the same every month. If they ever claim you did not pay, you can prove it in one search.

Add up the whole month — rent, council tax, energy, water, internet, food, travel — before you commit. If the total is more than about half of what you take home, the tenancy is going to be a squeeze. That is not a moral judgement, it is just arithmetic.More free articles about money, work and business are at The Next Generation Blog.

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