Living away from home comes with a cost, and that is entirely in literal terms. Still, you can budget and save money while staying on rent.
For students and couples, rent comes out to be the most significant expenditure. You may face difficulty saving money on rent as there are no voucher codes or discount coupons on the rent amount and cannot be reduced in any month. The same amount has to be spent every month.
You can save money while staying on rent. If you wish to live life king size, you can plan to borrow a loan to finance your expenses while staying at a rented accommodation.
Many people choose to borrow guaranteed debt consolidation loans to fund their expenses. It is advisable not to borrow money and instead cut down on your costs to have a financially stable future.
Considering all the factors, you can still save money while staying on rent. Have a look at few tips to help you save money on your rented accommodation.
- Share your rent
When you plan to stay on rent, always consider staying with other people on the same premises. Sharing your rented space with other people helps you to enjoy more benefits. In that same amount, you can share other living spaces such as the bathroom or the kitchen.
So, if you are staying with some more people, your rent share gets divided and reduced. Eventually, you get a cheaper property. You can get 3 room properties cheaper per individual than 2 room property.
Along with rent sharing, you also share other expenses such as bills, broadband services, and other subscriptions. The grocery billing is also shared between you and your flatmates.
- Keep a check on flaws
When you visit the property, keep an eye on all the flaws and pitfalls in the property.
If there are some serious issues such as dampness, electrical issues, you can raise a red flag and look for some other property, but minor problems can be used to your advantage, such as a door or wall stains.
To save some money, you can compromise and live with these minor issues. You can make a note of all these minor issues, and at the time of making the deal, you can always quote a lower price than what was asked for.
- Request for a break clause
Due to the pandemic, many students went back to their homes and moved out of their rented apartments. Many students asked their landlord to reduce their rent due to the genuine situation.
It was a dicey situation as they had no legal backing for this claim of the rent reduction. It was only dependent on the understanding between the tenant and the landlord.
It is advisable to get a break clause added to your agreement. A break clause allows either party to end the agreement at any time (after 6 months) with a notice of one or two months as both parties decide.
In the absence of a break clause, it will be difficult for you to end the agreement and leave the rented place in case of any emergency.
There can be any emergency in the future, such as university dropout, any medical emergency etc. So always consider this emergency and ask for a legal break clause.
- Fix up the flaws on your own
As mentioned in the above points, you can check and note down all the imperfections and ask for a discount on your rent.
Another way is to ask for a discount for the imperfections, and you can sort all these flaws at your end by fixing them yourself.
Managing these flaws can be cheaper than the portion of the rent amount you will pay in return. Before talking to your landlord, ensure to fix those issues quickly and not aggravate them.
If you can fix these flaws quickly on then go for the rent reduction conversation. Otherwise, the money-saving discussion can make things difficult for you.
To fix these flaws, you can always go for guaranteed loans with no credit check. So you can borrow a small amount and work on these flaws and simultaneously save a significant amount on the rent.
- Prefer semi-furnished or unfurnished property
It is a myth that a fully furnished property will save you money. So instead, go for a semi-furnished property.
With everything intact and all the furniture in a fully furnished house, it may increase your rent due to all the facilities provided by the landlord.
Going for an unfurnished apartment may help you save a significant chunk of money and add up to your savings.
Gradually, you can add up to your furniture and other furnishings. Many websites offer furniture at affordable prices. You can refer to these websites and look for affordable furniture as and when required.
Even with a fully furnished house, I would like to add many things according to your taste and preference. So, it is better to go for a semi or an unfurnished property to add up to your savings.
- Learn how to haggle
You can always use the haggle way if you are dealing directly with the landlord.
Although the landlord may not be much interested in reducing the rent, you can always try. You can learn how to haggle and try to reduce your rent.
There is no harm in learning how to haggle as if it works, you are on a profitable side, and if it doesn’t work, anyway, you agree to pay the particular rent amount.
- Prefer rent exclusive of bills
Do not get carried away by the inclusion of the bills in your rent. Many landlords offer you to pay the rent, including the monthly bills. But most of the time, there is a condition attached to these bills, i.e., fair usage.
If you have a high usage of central heating in the UK, you may not reap the benefit of this rent, including bills.
Your rent agreement must specify the usage amount and extra cost for over and above usage.
If you decide to pay your bills separately, that is a feasible option that paying the rent inclusive of everything. But, if you use lesser than the amount charged in the rent, you have to pay the same amount keeping you at a loss.
- Lesser rent for the smaller room
If you are offered a smaller room than your flatmates, you can always ask for a lesser rent compared to others.
You can avoid paying extra for the common spaces in your house. You should be able to fit the basic necessities in your room despite the smaller size. So do not demand a bugger room and work on cutting down your rent.
Conclusion
If you intend to save money, you can always do it. However, if you do not save money and pay higher rents, it may be difficult for you to pay off your other monthly expenses.
You may have to borrow loans bad credit. In addition, borrowing can pressure you financially and may complicate things.
In case of financial instability, it is essential to have your loan situation accepted no matter what. Else, it will be difficult for you to pay back your loan amount.
Jessica Rodz is the Senior Content Writer at Cashfacts. She has a long career in the field of content writing and editing. Jessica has the expertise in the UK lending marketplace where she has worked with 7 different lending organisations and acquired many responsibilities from preparing loan deals and writing blogs for their websites.
At Cashfacts, Jessica is managing a team of experienced loan experts and doing a major contribution in guiding the loan seekers via well-researched blogs. She has done graduation in Business (Finance) and now currently doing research papers on the UK financial sector.
