Renting a Flat in English: What to Ask at the Viewing

You have ten minutes in the flat and one agent in front of you. The real monthly cost, the length of the commitment and the money you get back depend on what you ask in those ten minutes and what you send in writing afterwards.

This guide uses England, where the rules changed on 1 May 2026, as a worked example. Rules differ elsewhere, and none of this is legal advice.

What Happens in the Ten Minutes You Get

A viewing is a sales conversation with a time limit. The person in front of you is usually a letting agent paid by the landlord, sometimes the landlord, occasionally a junior who has never seen the boiler. Their job is to move you towards a holding deposit; yours is to leave with enough written information to decide.

Shelter, the housing advice charity, warns that some agents rush viewings when there are problems they do not want you to see, and suggests taking someone with you to look and write things down. One keeps the agent talking while the other opens cupboards.

Eight Things the Agent Says, and What to Ask Back

Agents speak in short, friendly sentences that sound complete and are not. Here are eight you will hear, what each usually means, and the follow-up that turns it into information.

What you hear	What it usually means	What to ask back
It's available now.	Empty, or the last tenant has just left.	When did the last tenant leave, and has anyone else viewed it?
The deposit is five weeks' rent.	In England, the maximum when the yearly rent is under £50,000.	Which deposit protection scheme will you use?
There is a holding deposit to take it off the market.	Money to reserve the flat while checks run.	How much is it, and what does it come off if I sign?
Bills are not included.	You pay council tax, gas, electricity, water and usually broadband on top.	What did the last tenant pay for energy each month?
It comes furnished.	Some furniture stays and some does not; the inventory is the list that counts.	Can I see the inventory before I sign?
The landlord is flexible on the term.	Flexible for the landlord, usually.	What is the minimum term, and what notice do I give after it?
We will fix that before you move in.	A verbal promise with no date and no document.	Could you put that in an email before I pay anything?
The gas certificate is up to date.	Gas appliances must be checked yearly by a Gas Safe engineer.	Could I have a copy of the gas safety certificate?

The pattern never changes: the agent describes a state, and you ask for a number, a document or a date. States are negotiable; numbers and documents are not.

The Five Questions That Decide Whether You Want the Flat

If you remember only five lines, remember these, ordered by how much money they save you.

1. How long has it been empty, and why did the last tenant leave? An empty flat can mean a fast let or an escaped problem.
2. What exactly is included in the rent, and is there a cap on usage? This separates cheap from expensive.
3. What is the total I pay before I get the keys? Ask for one number, not four.
4. What is the minimum term, and what notice do I give after it? This decides how many months of rent you are promising.
5. Who do I contact when something breaks, and how quickly do they answer? A landlord who cannot name a process will not run one.

Deposit and Holding Deposit: What You Pay and What Comes Back

In England, a tenancy deposit is capped at five weeks' rent when the yearly rent is below £50,000 and at six weeks' rent between £50,000 and £100,000, according to the government's Tenant Fees Act 2019 guidance for tenants, read on 2 November 2026. The same guidance caps a holding deposit at one week's rent.

A holding deposit is not a tenancy deposit. It reserves the property while references are checked, and it need not sit in a protection scheme; once you become a tenant it turns into a deposit, which must be protected. The government's tenancy deposit protection guidance, read on the same date, says the deposit must enter a government-approved scheme within 30 days, must come back within 10 days of both sides agreeing the amount, and that a refunded holding deposit is paid back within 7 days.

A holding deposit can be held for 15 days unless another period is agreed in writing, and money can be kept only for false information, a change of mind, unanswered requests for documents, or a failed Right to Rent check. Failing a reference or credit check is not on that list. Before you transfer anything, ask for one email stating four figures: the rent, the tenancy deposit, the holding deposit, and what the holding deposit is set against if you sign.

Notice period and the minimum term

The agreement should say how much notice you give; if it does not, the government's guidance for assured periodic tenancies, read on 2 November 2026, says at least two months, which is also the maximum a landlord can ask for. Notice must end on a rent day or the day before, in writing, and rent keeps running while it does.

This is where a twelve-month term stops being twelve months: to leave on the last day you give notice two months before it, and notice given on the last day means two more months of rent. Read the term and the notice period as one number, and ask whether there is a break clause, because without one the landlord can ask for rent up to the end of the minimum notice period.

Bills Included, Council Tax and What the Rent Really Costs

"Bills included" has no fixed meaning. It can cover gas, electricity, water, broadband, a television licence and council tax, or broadband alone; the only useful answer is a written list, item by item.

Council tax is the one people forget. The government's council tax guidance, read on 2 November 2026, says you usually pay it if you are 18 or over, that a full bill assumes two adults, and that a single occupant can get 25% off. The Tenant Fees Act guidance lets a landlord include it in the rent when the agreement says so, which is why the same advertised rent means different monthly costs in two flats.

Then do the arithmetic in front of the agent: rent, council tax, energy, water, broadband and a television licence. Ask what the last tenant paid for energy in winter, and whether the included bills have a fair usage cap that becomes a supplement.

Furnished, Unfurnished and the Inventory List

Furnished, part-furnished and unfurnished are marketing words, not contract terms. What counts is the inventory: the record of what was in the property and its condition when you moved in. Shelter's guidance, updated on 19 December 2024, says it should cover walls, ceilings, floors, paintwork, carpets, curtains, furniture, appliances, fittings, windows, doors, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, and may record meter readings.

Landlords need not provide one. Without it, photograph every room on the day you get the keys and email the photos to the agent that evening; with it, add missing items, unrecorded damage and wrong meter readings before you sign. A deposit scheme or a court expects evidence of damage, and normal wear and tear is not damage.

The Ten-Question Viewing Checklist

Copy these ten lines into your phone, write the answer beside each during the viewing, and write "not answered" when the agent dodges: a dodge is information too.

1. What is the total I pay before I get the keys?
2. Which scheme will hold my deposit, and when do I get the certificate?
3. How much is the holding deposit, and what does it come off if I sign?
4. What is the minimum term, and what notice do I give after it?
5. Is there a break clause, and what does it cost to leave early?
6. What exactly is included in the rent, and is there a fair usage cap?
7. What did the last tenant pay for council tax and energy each month?
8. Can I see the inventory today, and will everything on it stay?
9. When was the last gas safety check, and can I have the certificate?
10. Who do I contact for repairs, and within what response time?

Ten questions take about four minutes; the viewing lasts ten. The rest belongs to what a list cannot ask: whether the neighbour's music comes through the wall and whether the window opens.

Following Up in Writing, and Paying From a New Account

Send one email within 24 hours. It thanks the agent, repeats what you were told, and creates a record that lives outside the agent's memory.

Dear agent, thank you for showing me the flat on Mill Street today. Before I pay the holding deposit, could you confirm in writing the rent, the tenancy deposit, the holding deposit and what it is set against, the minimum term and notice period, what the rent includes, and whether there is an inventory?

That is the confirmation to ask for before paying: rent, deposit, holding deposit, term, notice, bills and inventory. Seven items, one email, no argument later.

A deposit is normally paid by bank transfer from an account in your own name, and in many countries it must be local, so if you are still working out how to open a bank account in english, do it before you view rather than after you are offered a flat. Never pay cash, and never transfer to a personal account when the agreement names an agency.

Frequently asked questions

What should I ask at a flat viewing?

Ask for numbers, documents and dates rather than impressions. The five that matter are the total due before you get the keys, the deposit and the holding deposit, the minimum term and notice period, what the rent includes, and who handles repairs. What is the total I pay before I get the keys? is the one question that forces the rest of the conversation to become specific.

What is a holding deposit and how do I ask about it in English?

A holding deposit is money paid to reserve a flat while the landlord checks your references and your ability to pay the rent. In England it is capped at one week's rent, and it is not the tenancy deposit you pay when you sign. How much is the holding deposit, what does it come off, and when is it refunded if the tenancy does not go ahead? gets the amount, the set-off and the refund condition in one sentence.

Ask for the answer in writing before you transfer. The two dates that matter are when the money comes off your first payment if you sign, and when it comes back if you do not.