Demand for rented accommodation has grown strongly in recent months as potential first-time homebuyers become increasingly nervous about the slowing property market and frustrated by more expensive mortgages.

Jo Thornhill, Mail on Sunday – 23 October 2007

The knock-on effect is that rents are rising for the first time in years, making it even more important that renters should cut costs and know their rights.
Negotiate on rent

Graphic designers Claire Spollery and Matt Downer have been renting for five years and have just moved into a new luxury flat.

Though the couple’s dream is to own their own home, like millions of other would-be property buyers, the market is too expensive for them to get on the ladder.

‘Property prices where we live are astronomical,’ says Claire. ‘We’re trying to save hard, but renting is the only option for us at the moment.’ – full article