Renting Privately
Privately rented accommodation provides valuable solutions for people with a variety of housing needs. North Hertfordshire District Council can help customers find out more about these properties.
You may be able to claim Housing Benefit to help towards the cost of the rent, depending on your circumstances. Please call us on 01462 474000 and ask to speak to a Housing Benefit adviser, with details of your income. Alternatively, email service@north-herts.gov.uk 
with your enquiry, giving a daytime telephone contact number.
Useful information about renting a property privately is available from a variety of organisations.
- Citizens Advice Bureau
- advice on the type of tenancy depending when the tenancy began. Advice is also provided about repairs and rent increases. - Shelter - advice on finding somewhere to rent and about letting agencies.
- Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) - includes information leaflets about being a landlord and about being a tenant. Advice is also provided about tenancy agreements. Further information on privately renting a property is available at Direct Gov (link opens in a new window).
When privately renting a room or a flat/house, you may well be required to provide a deposit and pay a month's rent in advance. This is usually equivalent to 2 months rent, so can amount to several hundred pounds or more. Obviously, you should restrict your choice of property type to what you can afford, both in monthly rent and in money you will need to pay up front, at the start of the tenancy.
The Council may be able to arrange a low cost loan for the deposit, with the Black Squirrel Credit Union. The deposit would then be paid by the credit unuion to the landlord, and the tenant repays the loan in regular instalments to the credit union.
NHDC also runs a deposit guarantee scheme which may help some customers who have difficulty funding a deposit for a property.
Customers can view current vacancies a variety of ways. For example the local press, local estate agents or using popular property websites eg Rightmove , Findaproperty , Primelocation .
For rented rooms in a shared house, look for adverts in the local papers, postcards in shops, newsagents, supermarkets etc and websites such as Flatmaterooms .
Contact Details
For further information, please contact our Housing Options team via the Customer Service Centre on 01462 474000 or at service@north-herts.gov.uk .
Housing Options
North Hertfordshire District Council
Council Offices
Gernon Road
Letchworth Garden City
Herts
SG6 3JF
