Private rentals

Most students who study abroad for a long time decide to organise their own accommodation by renting a private room, apartment or house.

This is a great idea as it will help you interact with English speaking people in the city and is generally cheaper than other short term forms of accommodation.

However, there are some important things to be careful of; some bad things can happen to you if you are not careful. These include;

1. Being a tenant; apartments, houses and single rooms are all available in big cities. Be careful you don't stay in a house which is dangerous or unclean. Please read the excellent Manchester student accommodation tenant guide.
2. Areas of the City; Most areas of Manchester, London and Dublin are very safe, but there are a few places you should avoid.
   1. Areas of Manchester
   2. Areas of London
   3. Areas of Dublin
3. Best ways to find accommodation in...
   1. Manchester
      1. Rightmove.co.uk 
      2. Gumtree Manchester
      3. The Manchester Evening news classified columns
   2. London
      1. Rightmove.co.uk
      2. Gumtree London
      3. The Evening Standard classified columns
   3. Dublin
      1. Daft.ie
      2. Gumtree Dublin
      3. The Dublin Herald classifieds
4. The people you will live with; Many problems with private accommodation are connected with the people, not the building! Think carefully about who you will live with. Even good friends can have arguments when they live together. 
5. Deposits; in the UK, landlords usually ask for a deposit before you can move in. They usually give this back to you when you leave if there is no damage to the house. In the UK there are strict rules about this deposit, mainly to protect the tenant. You can read about them here.  
6. Landlords and leases; don't sign any lease that you are not sure about or do not completely understand. Read more about rental contracts here.
7. Bills; Usually you will have to pay for electricity, gas, the TV license and telephone and internet bills. The landlord will usually not pay for this. In the UK everyone who watches TV must pay for a license, it is a kind of tax. 
8. Council tax; this is a tax you pay to the local council. Students get a special discount, but you have to prove you are a student using documents to get this discount.