Private Renting
Information Pack for Afghans on the ARAP and ACRS schemes
Private renting in the UK refers to the practice of renting a property from a private landlord, as opposed to renting from a local council or housing association. Private renting is nowadays a popular choice for many people in the UK, especially those who are unable to afford to buy their own home or who do not want to commit to a long-term mortgage. Private renting can offer more flexibility than other forms of renting, as tenants are often able to negotiate shorter rental periods and more flexible terms with their landlords.
How to rent
There are many ways including websites that can help you find private rental properties in the UK. One such website is OpenRent, Rightmove, Zoopla & PrimeLocation, … It is also possible to rent through referencing where the tenants are referred to landlord by their friends or networks. Overall, it is a general process the help tenants live in londlords’ home in lieu of an agreed rent for a specific period of time up to one year or longer.
Finding available properties for rent in any of these sites are easy but it requires a series of processes, requirements and eligibilities to be qualified for viewing. The normal process entails the following steps:
Search for suitable property in any of these sites (take Zoopla as an example). Suitable refers to area, number of bedroom, property type, potential rent range
Virtually view the property and once you select one of them; apply for the selected property vie any of the two option 1) call the agent, or 2) email agent or both
Respond to questions that are sent by some of the state agents.
View the property in a pre-agreed date and time only if you qualify, you wish or the state agents give you the appointment.
Complete and submit the formal application form and transfer 1 week deposit if you are interested in the property.
Reference check will be done by the state agent and selection by landlord
Sign contract agreement only if you pass the reference check and the landlord select your application.
Challenges of private renting
Although the process seems quite good and straightforward, there are complications in each of the stages. Below are some of the key potential challenges, applicants may face for any private rent:
High demand: There are very high demand for rental properties in UK in recent years. When any property is advertised in the market, over 100 applicants would show interest in the property, however all are not given the viewing opportunity. Based on personal and practical experience, the state agents play key role in private renting. At the very first stage, they filter the list of applicants along with a separate list they have in their directory based on their own criteria. Only quite a few application get a chance to view the property.
Employment status/family income: When you apply for any private rental property, the state agent requires you to have an employment or family income three times more than the property rent. Most families either misunderstand this concept or do not have high income, thus they either quit or get disqualified by state agents.
Requirement for guarantors: if a family doesn’t meet the income requirement, the state agents on rare occasion offer if they can provide a guarantor. The requirements for guarantor are to own a house, and have income three times more than property rent. Few people can find guarantor with that specification including willingness.
Members in a family: most agents check the family size and they prefer the family with fewest member, fewest number of children and all working adult. Some even prefer pet-free and smoke-free families.
Credit check: Some applicants who passes initial stages may fail credit reference check had they not spent last three years in UK. It may even cost their one week deposit that the applicants had paid to state agent if they fail.
Some Tips:
Being a refugee myself and experiencing most of these bottlenecks when tried to rent a private property for living. It took me 8 months to get a house. Over this period, I managed to apply for over 100 properties, viewed over 30 properties and even got offer for 3 properties despite being a low income, on benefit and with 5 children of school age. I therefore would like to share with you some tips to enable you get a private rent house in UK
Never surrender, it may take you months to get a response and finally get a house. It means no matter how many rejection you get, you shall still keep applying for your dream house and your turn will come.
Despite the high demand for rental properties, you can still see some properties in the market for months. It means these properties don’t go on rent as fast as the state agents show. You can still apply for suitable properties even if you feel you don’t qualify. You thus enter location, minimum and maximum number of beds and the rent prices you can afford, so the system filters and bring the most suitable properties for your view.
To make sure you get a viewing chance while searching for properties in Zoopla, please go for both options, 1) email agent and 2) call agent. There is a “Just Added” mark next to all the properties that are added in system within the last 24 hours. If you apply for these properties, your chance of a viewing opportunity is very high. Also it’s your communication skills that can help you get a viewing chance once calling the agent or the agent calls you. You must have self-confidence and put your winning card like your potential income increase, upfront rent if you can, your guarantors, etc on the ground.
Some people still miscalculate their income and assume their income is what they earn as salary. However a family include includes salaries, child benefit, universal credit, housing benefit, PIP if any etc. You can also conduct an affordability assessment to find out if you can afford any house payment. To conduct affordability, you can use entitledto.com.
If you are on benefit and would like to find out how much you can receive as housing benefit, you can use the LHA calculator. The LHA calculator helps you find out how many bedroom your family is entitled to and how much you can receive. To find out number of bedrooms, complete the form and press calculate. The system automatically calculate number of rooms you are entitled to. You can then add the post code of the area you would like to get a house. The system extracts the rent you are entitled to for that particular area. It is important to check your potential housing entitlement for every postcode you search house. This is because housing benefit is different for different councils/postcode.
If you are new and feel you may not pass credit check, you better talk to the state agents in advance so you don’t lose one week deposit.
If you have children over 18 for whom you don’t claim housing benefit, you better not include them among list of those living in the property.
The key challenges for applicants are when they are on benefit, not working, or working but their total family income is less than three times of rent.
Some rights and responsibilities of tenants:
If you are a tenant in a privately rented property in the UK, you have certain rights and responsibilities. According to the UK government, as a tenant, you have the right to:
live in a property that’s safe and in a good state of repair
have your deposit returned when the tenancy ends - and in some circumstances have your deposit protected
challenge excessively high charges
know who your landlord is
live in the property undisturbed
see an Energy Performance Certificate for the property
be protected from unfair eviction and unfair rent
have a written agreement if you have a fixed-term tenancy of more than 3 years
take good care of the property, for example turn off the water at the mains if you’re away in cold weather
pay the agreed rent, even if repairs are needed or you’re in dispute with your landlord
pay other charges as agreed with the landlord, for example Council Tax or utility bills
repair or pay for any damage caused by you, your family or friends
Benefits Calculator - https://www.entitledto.co.uk/
Local Housing Allowance - https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx
Private Renting - https://www.gov.uk/private-renting
USPUK Afghan team is ready to assist you.
For further information, feel free to reach out to us on WhatsApp at +447360861633 or via email at afghanistan@uspuk.org.
*Information last undated on 09.06.2025
**The content in this pack is for informational purposes only. It is not professional advice. Seek guidance from relevant experts or authorities for specific concerns or decisions.