Rotherham

Given the demand for housing in Rotherham, you will have to wait to be offered accommodation.  You can use this time to consider all your options and work out what type of accommodation may be best suited to you given your income, circumstances and needs.  Advice can be found on a range of options through completing the online Housing Options Guide but you may wish to consider the following questions before you decide on whether you can afford to take on a tenancy or to find out what you need to consider before you commit to a tenancy.

Have you worked out your budget?
Do you know the cost of running your home?
Do you have rent in advance?
How are you going to move and have you considered the cost?
Do you need further help or support?

Have you worked out your budget

You will need to understand your income in order to plan for the costs involved in furnishing, running and maintaining your home.  Costs are difficult to calculate but you will need to be realistic when estimating the cost for things such as gas, electric,water, food and other weekly costs that you will need to cover when you have your own home.  The online budget planner will be useful for you to complete in order to understand your income and expenditure.

Do you know the cost of running your home

If you have not managed your own home before then you may not be aware of what you will need to pay for.  Most properties allocated through KeyChoices are completely unfurnished and you may well need to buy some or all of the following;

• Fridge/Freeezer
• Cooker
• Sofa
• Washing Machine
• Carpets/Curtains/Towels
• Beds/Bedding
• Pots/pans and cooking utensils 
• Mugs/cups, plates/bowls, drinking glasses and cutlery 

You may be able to apply for help to buy some of the items listed above but this will depend on your income.  You can also buy used goods from local companies such as house clearance shops and local charity shops as well as through websites such as gumtree, ebay and freeads.

You will also need to make sure that you can afford to live in any accommodation offered to you and you will therefore need to pay other charges such as:

• Council Tax
• Water Rates
• Gas/Electircity
• TV Licence
• Food

You may have other costs to pay for such as phone costs, credit card bills, travel costs, clothing and other living costs. It will therefore be necessary for you to understand your income and outgoings so that you do not get in debt. The online budget tool will be useful in helping you to understand the costs involved and how you need to plan to spend any money you receive.

It is important to be realistic over your income and what you can afford as otherwise this may then place you at risk of losing any accommodation that you find or may be offered to you.

Do you have the rent in advance payment ready

All landlords taking part in the KeyChoices scheme will require you to pay rent in advance.  This will usually be 1 weeks rent but if you are intending to pay rent on a monthly basis then this may be more and in line with your intended payment cycle.  The weekly rent on properties advertised varies from approximately £60 to £100 and you will therefore need to start to save for this should you be offered accommodation.  Advice on saving can be found online or through contacting Laser Credit Union

How are you going to move & have you considered the cost

Even if you have all of the above items and your budget plan in place then you will need to think about how you are going to move.  You will need to find the costs for removals or find other means of transporting the items that you have.

New Tenancy workshops

If you haven't had your own tenancy before, you will be required to attend a Tenancy Workshop. The workshop is a free course designed for mainly young people who are looking to take a tenancy for the first time and provides practical advice, guidance and information on the issues around setting up and maintaining a home.  The course covers advice on:

• setting up home and living alone for the first time
• budgeting
• practical skills including refilling your boiler
• legal requirements
• tenancy support

You may also find useful information on the mix website.