10. Rent in advance
To secure most private tenancies, you will be asked to pay rent in advance. This means you are paying the rent for the month you are going to be living there, not the month you have already lived there. This is called rent in advance.
Importantly, you need to be aware if you are claiming Housing Benefit, or the housing element of Universal Credit, the payments are made in arrears. This means they only pay for the month you have already lived there.
If you are claiming benefits to pay your rent, you will need to save up to pay the rent in advance to a new landlord, or find help to make this payment.