Renting Upfront Cost Calculator
The total cash you need to move into a new rental, deposit, first month's rent and moving costs, plus the legal deposit cap and a warning if your last deposit hasn't come back yet.
Estimate only. This calculator gives estimates for information only, not legal advice. Deposit protection and fee rules are set out in the Tenant Fees Act 2019, check gov.uk or Shelter for your specific situation.
Enter the monthly rent
The total cash you need to move in appears here, along with the legal deposit cap.
What you actually need to have ready
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 caps a refundable deposit at 5 weeks' rent (6 weeks if the total annual rent is £50,000 or more) and a holding deposit at 1 week's rent, anything above that is illegal. On top of the deposit, most landlords want the first month's rent in advance before you get the keys, so the headline "upfront cost" is usually deposit plus first month, plus whatever you're paying to actually move. The catch many renters miss: your OLD deposit is often still tied up with your previous landlord or agent for weeks after you move out, while your NEW deposit is due immediately, so you may need both amounts available at the same time, even though one of them should eventually come back to you.
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