1. Explore your options
Before you take the plunge and choose to rent by yourself, it’s a good idea to explore any options that could be available to you first.
Think about your long-term goal. If you hope to buy your own home one day, paying rent could eat into your disposable income and reduce the amount of savings you’re able to set aside. If it’s a possible option, you might consider living with family and building your savings rather than renting.
On the other hand, perhaps you enjoy the freedom to move around, and have no desire to get your foot on the property ladder. In this case, renting might suit your circumstances.
2. Consider a house/ flat share
Renting on your own might be your preference, and despite being solely responsible for the costs, you may relish the solitude. If this is you, please feel free to skip this section!
However, if you’ve found yourself considering renting as a single person due to unavoidable circumstances, such as a relationship breakdown, you should know that you don’t necessarily have to go it alone.
Have you considered a house or flat share? In this situation, two or more people typically have their own bedroom while sharing facilities, such as the kitchen and living area. Rent and bills are usually split equally between tenants.
Before you agree to a house/flat share, it’s important to read through the tenancy agreement carefully and understand your rights and exactly how much money you’ll be required to pay each month.
Good to know: if you’re searching for places to rent in the UK, you might come across the phrases ‘single occupancy’ and ‘multiple occupancy’.
What does single occupancy mean? Single occupancy means that the property and its facilities are available to one household only. This could include a single tenant or a family. Multiple occupancy describes a property that is available for more than one household, with shared facilities.
3. Set a budget
When assessing your financial situation, setting a monthly budget is a practical first step to take.
If you are looking to rent as a single person, working out your monthly budget could help you determine a price range and assist with your property search.
Gaining an in-depth insight into your spending habits could also reveal areas to cut back.
Carefully go through all your monthly outgoings and separate them into essential costs and ‘nice to haves.’ For example, essential costs include housing, bills and food, while nice to haves are things like TV subscriptions and gym memberships.
Budgeting isn’t about sacrificing the things you enjoy in life - you shouldn’t feel as though you need to cancel your gym membership or Netflix subscription if you actively use them – but if you’re not getting your money’s worth from a service, cancelling could free up your budget.
If you’re new to budgeting and aren’t sure where to start, you might find MoneyHelper’s free budget planner useful.
4. Check your eligibility for single-person discounts
Can you get help with rent as a single person?
The most important perk to take advantage of when renting as a single person in the UK is a discount on your council tax. Single occupants are entitled to 25% off their council tax bill. You can check your eligibility and make a claim for single person’s council tax discount via your local council website. To find your local council, click here.
5. Benefits for people living alone
Looking for single people living alone benefits?
If you’re out of work or on a low income, you could be eligible to claim Universal Credit. While Universal Credit is not specifically for single people, the number of people in your household is just one of the factors that will influence the amount of money you could get.
The standard Universal Credit monthly amount for a single person under the age of 25 is £316.86, and £400.14 for a single person over the age of 25.
You can check your eligibility for Universal Credit through the Gov.uk website here.
If you’re interested in finding out more about benefits for single people, you might find our blog useful.
6. Reduce your bills
When renting on your own, you’re going to want to keep your bills as low as possible. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to reduce your monthly household bills.
- You could save money on your electricity by unplugging devices when they’re not in use, washing clothes at a lower temperature, and researching whether investing in an air fryer could be financially beneficial to you.
- Use comparison sites such as Uswitch to compare providers and deals for your energy and broadband. If you’re in contract with your current supplier, find out if they charge an exit fee and consider this when working out how much you could save by switching.
- Saving money on water bills can be tricky because you can’t just shop around for another provider if yours is becoming a little pricey. However, the good news is that there are many hacks to save money on your water bill, including taking 4-minute showers, turning off the tap while you brush your teeth, and promptly fixing leaks.
- As a single person renting, it might be cheaper for you to switch to a water meter if you don’t already use one. With a water metre, you only pay for what you use. If you don’t have a water metre, you’ll be billed a set amount of money, meaning that you could be paying for more water than you actually use.
Looking for more money-saving tips for single people? CashLady has put together a series of useful money-saving blogs, which you can read by clicking on the links below.
Conclusion
Renting as a single person has its financial drawbacks, but living alone can be a hugely rewarding experience.
Yes, it can be difficult to pay the bills on your own, but at the end of the day, you can’t put a price on your personal peace, freedom, and happiness, and if solitude grants you this contentment, then the cost of renting as a single person is a small price to pay.
If you’re worried about money or debt, please know that you can get free, confidential, impartial advice from the following charities and organisations: StepChange, MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice, and National Debtline.