The Benefits of Renting for Families

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When I first fell pregnant both me and my partner were both living at home with our parents. We knew right away that we wanted to move out, to find our own place and be able to raise our baby in our own space. But buying our own place was out of the question, we were both young and not long out of college with hardly any savings to our name. 

So instead of admitting defeat we opted to go down the avenue of renting. I know a lot of people have different opinions on renting but for us its been great and it meant that we were able to be in our place before baby arrived. When baby did arrive it was lovely being able to bring them back to our home and build precious family memories together. 

Obviously renting won't and doesn't work for everyone but there are actually some really positive benefits to renting and since me and my husband have been renting for almost 11 years, with minimal issues during that time, I wanted to share some of the great benefits there are to renting. 


Offers Greater Flexibility

When you buy a house you tied to that home, moving isn't as easy as just upping and going. However when you rent you are often only ever tied into short contracts. The standard seems to be either a 6 or 12 month contract to begin with and then just a rolling 1 month contract. This means that if you decide to leave, for any reason you will only need to give your landlord one months notice before leaving. In fact you could leave before that, but you will be eligible to pay the rent for the period of notice your contract states. 

So whilst you do need to give some form of notice to leave its as simple as filling out a quick form and letting your landlord know. This gives you much greater flexibility if you are perhaps planning on looking for a new job, moving for a school or just like traveling and moving around rather than staying in one area. What's more as long as you have left the property in the condition it was when you moved in, you will even receive back your deposit too. 


No Big Costly Repairs

This one is always a big bonus for renters and has been a lifesaver for me and my husband whilst we have been renting. Since the home you rent technically isn't yours and belongs to the landlord, as long as the problem or issues haven't been directly caused by you as a tenant then the repair/replacement costs will fall to your landlord. We have been in our current property for almost 10 years and have had to have a new cooker, new front door and a new fence just to name a few, all of which have been covered and paid for by our landlord.

Most landlords will have their own landlord insurance which will cover them for these repairs or replacements which means that they are covered against the costs and so are you. When you buy all of these issues would need to be paid for solely by you and really you would need a pot of savings to cover any repairs since a boiler replacement alone can go into the thousands! I am always super grateful when we rent that we can relax in the knowledge that we aren't going to be facing any unexpected repair bills whilst living here.


You Can Move In Quickly

The average moving time when moving to a rented property is around 4-6 weeks, this can even be quicker sometimes especially if going through a private landlord rather than an estate agent. There is no waiting around for lengthy paperwork and contracts to be completed, no solicitor involvement and no lengthy chains or waiting for others to complete their move before you can move.

Most rented properties are already empty and so landlords are able to give you a set date for moving and once credit checks go through and you sign a contract you are ready to move in.


Much Smaller Deposit Needed

One of the biggest hurdles people face when looking for their first home is coming up with a deposit. For a mortgage and those looking to purchase their first home this can mean coming up with a deposit of often something in the region of £15,000 + which can seem almost impossible. However when you choose to rent, the deposit is much smaller and is often somewhere in the region of the value of 6 weeks rent. So if you rent was £600 a month you would be looking at placing a deposit of around £800. This makes getting into a home much more manageable for so many people.

Plus there is the added bonus of getting your deposit back when you rent too! Most good landlords will place your deposit into a safe scheme which will enable you to receive your deposit back at the end of your tenancy as long as you haven't caused any damage to the property during your time renting.


Help With Renting Costs 

We never know when our situations might change but fear not because if you rent and find yourself unable to afford the costs, you may be entitled to some help to help you cover your rent. There is a benefit called Housing Benefit which if you are on a low income or receive certain benefits may be able to help you cover some of the costs of your rent.

Every area and local council has their own LHA (local housing allowance) rate and you would need to apply to see if you are eligible but it can really help in times of need and can help you stay in your home if you are struggling. This is a benefit that is only available to those who rent either privately or through the council and cannot be claimed to help with a mortgage!

There is no denying that yes, when you rent the home is never really yours. But that doesn't mean you can't make it feel like yours. 

Many of the landlords out there now looking for very long term tenants and who are more than happy to let you make the home feel like your own. That means decorating, hanging pictures and moving things around. Most landlords will usually just ask that you obviously don't make any structural changes to their property and that when you do leave you leave it as you found it so that they can re rent or sell it on with minimal work. 

There are many reasons why people choose not to or who cannot buy their own homes but renting is a great option too! 

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**This is a collaborative post**