Renting a home is the biggest monthly commitment most people make, and yet the process is usually explained badly, rushed, or both. This guide is our attempt to fix that. It covers the whole journey with H1 Housing: what we check and why, what you pay and what you never pay, how repairs work when something breaks, and what happens to your deposit at the end. If anything here conflicts with what you are told elsewhere, this page wins, because it is written down.

A few principles before the detail. We do not charge tenants for viewings, referencing, contracts or renewals; the Tenant Fees Act banned most of that and we would have stopped anyway. Your deposit goes into a government-approved protection scheme within 30 days, and you get the paperwork saying so. And every listing description on this site is written by someone who stood in the room, because oversold listings waste your Saturday and our time.

Viewings and applications

Find a home on our properties page, then book a viewing in two taps: pick a slot, get a confirmation, turn up. Viewings run evenings and Saturdays because job interviews do not wait for Wednesday afternoons. The person showing you round is an H1 manager who knows the building, not a subcontractor with a clipboard; ask them anything about the block, the neighbours, the commute or the boiler, and if they do not know they will find out the same day.

Before the viewing we qualify enquiries in one message: confirm the move date, the number of occupants and the right-to-rent documents you will use. This is not gatekeeping for its own sake; it means nobody falls in love with a flat they cannot legally rent, and it means our landlords take applications from people who are ready, which is why they accept ours quickly.

When you decide to apply, you pay a holding deposit capped at one week's rent. The terms are in writing before you pay: what it protects, exactly when it is refundable, and the short list of situations where it can be retained, which are the ones the law allows, such as withdrawing, providing false information, or failing a right-to-rent check despite being told what was needed. If the tenancy goes ahead, the holding deposit converts to your first rent payment or your deposit, your choice of where it helps most.

Referencing, in plain terms

Referencing answers three questions: can you legally rent in the UK, can you afford the rent, and have you been the kind of tenant a landlord wants back? We run credit and affordability checks, verify your employment or income, and ask your previous landlord for a reference. A complete application usually finishes in five working days, and a named human chases it the whole way.

If your situation is not textbook, tell us at the start. Freelance or contract income works with three months of invoices or a tax summary. A retired guarantor works with proof of pension income. A thin credit file works with six months of bank statements and a slightly higher deposit where the landlord agrees. What does not work is hoping we will not notice, because we will, and honesty at application is the cheapest credibility you will ever buy.

A guarantor is sometimes the answer: typically a UK-based person who earns roughly three times the annual rent and is willing to sign a guarantee agreement. We explain exactly what they are signing, because a guarantor who understands the document is a guarantor who never gets a surprise call.

Move-in day and the first week

The tenancy agreement comes to you before move-in, in plain language with the key terms summarised on page one. Read it. Ask questions before you sign rather than after; we would rather answer ten questions now than negotiate a misunderstanding later. On the day itself, we meet you at the property, walk the inventory together, count the keys, photograph the meters, and hand over a welcome pack with every number you will ever need, including the 24-hour repair line for managed homes.

Your deposit is registered with a government-approved scheme within 30 days and you receive the prescribed information naming the scheme, the amount, and how to get it back. Set up your rent payment as a standing order for the date in the contract. Report the first wobbly shelf immediately rather than at checkout; we would much rather fix small things early, and the inventory is the document your deposit will be measured against.

Living in the property

Repairs are the part we most want to get right. Report through the online form with photos, or the 24-hour line for anything urgent: gas smells, total power or water loss, leaks you cannot contain, or heating failure in cold weather. Emergencies are triaged the same day; routine jobs are scheduled within normal working days with appointments you can actually attend. Every managed job is photo-documented before and after, which protects everyone: you from blame for old faults, and the deposit from disputes about new ones.

Your responsibilities are the fair ones: pay rent on time, keep the home reasonably clean, report problems promptly rather than letting them grow, allow access for annual safety checks with proper notice, and treat neighbours as you would want to be treated. The full list, in the same spirit, is on our tenant responsibilities page. If money gets tight, tell us the day you know, not the day the payment bounces; landlords work with tenants who communicate, and our arrears process exists to solve problems early, not to ambush people.

Renewals and moving out

About two months before your fixed term ends, we contact you with options: renew at the same or a reviewed rent, switch to a periodic tenancy, or plan your exit. Rent reviews come with comparables attached; if the market has not moved, we say so. There is no renewal fee, and we never “discover” new terms at the last minute.

If you are leaving, we agree the checkout date early, send the pre-checkout checklist, and walk the final inspection against the move-in inventory, photos first. Deposit deductions, if any, are proposed with evidence: invoices, inspection notes, the inventory. You disagree, you tell the scheme's free dispute service, and their decision binds everyone. The honest version: tenants who report repairs promptly and leave a home clean lose nothing but the key.