Moving Out of Home Checklist: Your First Place in Australia

This is the number that catches first-time renters out. Bond and advance rent are normally payable together the moment your application is accepted, before you have bought a bed or a fridge. Work it out on the actual advertised rent of places you are looking at, then add connection fees and a furniture float on top.

Your salary is not your rent budget. Rent should come out of take-home pay, and if you have a HECS-HELP debt the repayment comes out of your pay before it reaches your account. Check the figure on your payslip rather than estimating it, because a few hundred dollars a month changes what you can afford.

Spending more than roughly 30 per cent of take-home pay on rent leaves very little room for bills, food and savings, and it is the single most common reason first moves go wrong. Treat it as a ceiling, not a target. In a tight market it is tempting to stretch, and stretching is what turns a good move into a stressful one.

You need the full upfront amount sitting in cash, not spread across savings and a credit card. Agents ask for proof of savings, and a fund you can show is also what lets you move quickly when you find the right place. Give yourself a realistic runway, usually several months of saving.

This decision changes almost everything below it. A share house splits rent and bills but puts you on a lease with other people, while renting alone means every cost is yours. Work out the real per-person cost of each option before you commit to a search, not after.

Most agencies ask for 100 points of ID, which usually means a passport or birth certificate plus a driver licence, plus recent payslips or a bank statement showing income. Having it ready in advance is what wins a competitive inspection, because the applicant who can apply on the spot is the one the agent remembers.

If you have rented before, a written reference from that agent carries real weight. If you have not, a personal reference plus proof of steady income does the job. Ask for the reference before you need it, because chasing someone for a letter while an application deadline runs is how good places get away.

Water, gas, electricity, internet and parking are treated differently from one property to the next, and what is included changes your weekly cost by a meaningful amount. Ask directly at the inspection and get the answer before you apply, because it is much harder to negotiate after you have signed.

A fixed-term lease usually runs six or twelve months, and leaving early can mean paying a break fee or rent until a new tenant is found. Check the term length, the notice period, and how rent increases are handled. Signing a twelve month lease when you might relocate in six is an expensive mistake.

The bond must be lodged with the state or territory bond authority, not held by the agent or the landlord. Lodgement is required within a set number of business days of receipt, and late lodgement is a compliance breach. Ask for the lodgement receipt, because without it you have no proof your money is protected.

The condition report you complete at move-in is what determines whether your bond comes back. Note every mark, chip and stain, and date-stamp photos of each room. Anything you leave off the report can be treated as damage you caused, and the cost comes straight out of your bond at the end.

On a share house lease, co-tenants are each liable for the full rent, not just their share. If a housemate leaves, the rent does not drop and the remaining tenants still owe the lot. Agree in writing how rent and bills are split, and tell the agent if someone moves out.

Rent Assistance is only paid to people already receiving certain payments such as JobSeeker, Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY, and it is not a standalone benefit anyone can claim. If you are working full time you will not get it. Check your eligibility properly rather than budgeting for money that will not arrive.

You get to choose your electricity and gas retailer, and the difference between the cheapest and most expensive plan for the same address is significant. Compare on the national price comparison service before you call to connect, because once you are on a plan the savings are easy to forget about for a year.

Connection fees are charged on top of your first bill, and some providers charge an activation fee that only appears once you sign up. Ask for the total setup cost upfront. Budget for it in your upfront cash figure, because it lands in the same fortnight as the bond and advance rent.

Your landlord insures the building, not your stuff. If the place floods or is broken into, your laptop, clothes and furniture are not covered by anyone else. Contents insurance for renters is usually inexpensive, and it is the one setup cost that protects everything else you just bought.

Furnishing a whole place at once is where the budget really breaks. Buy the bed and the fridge first, then add the rest over the first few months. Secondhand and marketplace finds are normal at this stage, and nobody is judging your furniture.

Your first month is the most expensive one you will have, because the bond, advance rent, connection fees and furniture all land together. Budget it separately from your normal month so you can see exactly where the money went, then switch to a normal budget from month two.

Something will break, a bill will be higher than expected, or a housemate will be late with their share. A buffer of even a few hundred dollars is what stops that turning into a credit card balance you carry for a year. Start it in your first month, not after the first problem.

Rent is the one bill you cannot be late on, and paying it manually is how people miss it in a busy month. Set up automatic transfers for rent and bills the day after you are paid, and send a small amount to savings at the same time. What you do not see, you do not spend.

Your first estimate of what living costs will be wrong, and that is normal. Track actual spending for two months, then adjust the budget once based on real numbers. Changing it every week is how budgets get abandoned, so make one honest correction and leave it alone.