UK Edition: Renting a Room: Tenancy, Deposit and Move-In Costs, SEND, KS4 and Post-16

A first time renting set for KS4 and post 16 SEND learners, written for England using the current England rules (check the GOV.UK tenancy guidance and your local council for what applies now): a room advert in a shared house, a one page summary of a rolling tenancy agreement, and a move in costs sheet with an inventory.

Why I made this

Young people often sign for their first room in a hurry, on a phone, without reading it. Most of what matters fits on one page: the rent, the deposit, who pays which bills, who fixes what, and how to leave. This set teaches learners to find those things and to work out the money they need before they move in.

What's included

• Teacher page with a short note on the UK details

• Words to know: 10 key words with pictures (tenant, landlord, tenancy agreement, rent, pcm, deposit, deposit scheme, notice, inventory, bills included)

• 3 practice documents: a room advert, the key terms of a tenancy agreement, and move in costs with an inventory

• 12 Level A questions with pictures and three choices

• The same 12 questions at Level B, with open answers and room to show working

• A real life task: compare two rooms on move in money and monthly cost, including bills and bus fares, then list questions for the landlord

• Answer key that shows where to find every answer

Two levels, same questions

Level A suits learners who need visual support and choices. Level B suits learners ready to write and show working. Because the questions match, the whole group can work from the same documents and go through the answers together.

How I use it

I ask learners to find five things on the tenancy before we do any questions: rent, deposit, who pays the bills, who fixes the boiler, and how to leave. The comparison task always gets a good argument going about cheap rent against a long walk to the bus. It works well as evidence towards an independent living outcome in an EHCP, and in Preparing for Adulthood reviews.

Who it is for

KS4, sixth form, FE college and post 16 SEND groups, learners on SEN Support, and supported internship or independent living programmes.

Please note

Written for England. Rules in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are different. All names, addresses and figures are made up. This is teaching material, not legal advice.

What you download: one printable PDF, A4, answer key included. Licence: single teacher or setting.

Written by Jeremy D. Gooch, a teacher with 20+ years in education. Part of the Functional Life Skills UK series from The Transition Cliff.

Keywords: SEND, EHCP, Preparing for Adulthood, KS4, Post 16, renting, tenancy agreement, deposit, independent living, moving out, shared house, life skills, functional maths, Entry Level