Private renting advice for people living with EB
Renting from a private landlord in the UK
A private rental property is one that is owned by a landlord, who could be an individual, a property company, or an institutional investor, and which is leased to a tenant either for a fixed term, which is typically 6 months or 12 months, or a periodic or rolling tenancy, which could be weekly or monthly. Some people like the security of a fixed term, whereas offers prefer the flexibility of a periodic tenancy.
One of the advantages of renting privately can be the wider choice of properties and locations it offers, however renting privately is normally more expensive than social housing and tenancies are not as secure, for example, your landlord could give you relatively short notice to leave the property if you have a periodic tenancy or rolling tenancy, or if your fixed-term tenancy has ended.
To find out more about private rented accommodation including:
- How to find a private rented property to rent
- Finding landlords who accept benefits
- How to rent with bad credit
- What to check for in a tenancy agreement
- Rent increases and getting help with rent
- Ending your tenancy
- Eviction
- Repairs
- Harassment, discrimination, and complaints
Below you can find additional information and resources related to private renting, which you may find useful.
Private tenancy support for people with EB
Private renting could be a good option for you however there may be other accommodation options available that better suit your needs and financial situation including social housing.
The DEBRA EB Community Support Team can assist you with a variety of topics related to housing including the things to consider when searching for a property, where to go to find suitable properties, and accessing financial support for the deposit and rent. Please contact them today.
Getting financial help for private rent and deposits for people with EB
If you need financial support to be able to afford to pay the deposit and rent for a private rental property, there could be support available to you including universal credit, a discretionary housing payment (DHP), or grants from charities.
For more information, please visit:
You can also contact the DEBRA EB Community Support Team. The team can use their expertise in benefits and EB to help you access the benefits you may be entitled to.
How to find private landlords who accept benefits
The Local housing allowance (LHA) rates went up in April 2024 after a 4 year freeze which could mean there are more private rented properties in your budget if you get universal credit or housing benefit.
Many councils also have lists of private landlords who rent to tenants claiming benefits.
For more information, please visit:
How to rent from a private landlord with bad credit
Landlords and agents may well carry out a credit check before agreeing to rent you a property, they must ask you permission to do the credit check though. They will do this because they want to know if a tenant moving into their property has a history of paying their bills on time.
If you do have a bad credit history, there are things you can do to mitigate this, including:
A letting agent or landlord may rent a property to you if someone else who does have a good credit history agrees to be your guarantor. The person you ask will be required to sign a guarantor document that commits them to pay your rent if you are unable to, including any rent arrears, and pay for any damage you cause to the property. For more information, please visit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/starting-to-rent-from-a-private-landlord/using-a-guarantor/
If you don’t have a friend or relative who’s prepared to stand as your guarantor or you would prefer not to ask then, for a fee, there are companies whowill stand as guarantors for you. This can be an expensive option though; expect to pay at least£300 or more depending on your circumstances. Also, you will be asked to sign a contract or ‘guarantor deed’. Most of these companies will ask you for proof of identity and salary and require that you earn at least 1.5 times your rent. For more information, please visit https://www.advicenow.org.uk/know-hows/what-do-if-you-can%E2%80%99t-get-guarantor
There is no rule of thumb about how long it takes to improve your credit history but it’s reasonable to assume that you’ll need approximately six to 12 months of new credit history to improve your score. For more information, please visit https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/credit/how-to-improve-your-credit-score
The simplest way to circumvent the guarantor system is by paying your rent in advance, usually in a lump sum representing between six-and twelve-months’ rent.
For more information and resource to support you if you have poor credit history, please visit How to rent with a poor credit history – Shelter England
If you have poor credit history applying for social housing may be a better option for you financially than private rented housing which is typically more expensive.
How to find a private rental property
There are different ways to search for a private rented property including searching online, using a letting agent, or renting direct from a landlord.
For information to help you secure a private rented property, please visit:
How to handle rent increases as a private tenant with EB
For information about your rights when it comes to rent increases, please visit:
Ending a private rent tenancy
If you want to end your private rent tenancy you will need to give notice, the length of notice you’ll need to provide will depend on the type of tenancy you have and what your tenancy agreement says.
If you can’t provide the required amount of notice you may be able to agree with your landlord to end your tenancy early which is called ‘surrendering your tenancy’.
For more information about ending your private rent tenancy, please visit If you want to end your private tenancy – Citizens Advice
If you landlord wants to end the tenancy agreement, they will also need to provide the required notice, as defined in the tenancy agreement that you signed, and they will need to give notice in a particular way.
Eviction process in UK for private tenants
A landlord can evict a tenant using a section 8 or section 21 eviction notice.
To find out more about section 8 and section 21 notices and the situations in which a landlord can legally evict a tenant, please visit:
Page published: October 2024
Last review date: July 2025
Next review date: July 2026