Before starting
Before you start looking for a house or apartment for rent, think about three things:
• How much money
How much money can you spend on a rented place? Think first of how much money you can afford to spend each month. A good rule of thumb is: try not to spend more than a third of your rental income. If the rent is more than a third of what you and your family earn, it can be difficult to pay all your expenses
• How large how
many rooms do you and your family need?
• Where
in which areas of your region is it better to live? For example, is it close to your job? Is there a school in the area? Are there good public transportation?
After thinking about these things, you’re ready to start looking. You may not find or be able to pay what you want. You may need to make choices about what is most important to you and your family.
Rent or buy?
There are two ways you can have a place to live: you can rent or you can buy.
• Renting a room or a house means that you live in a house that is not yours. You will have the right to live there for a limited period of time by signing a contract and paying regularly every month.
• Buying an apartment or a house means that you will pay a lot of money and then you will own the house. For many people it takes so long to do this.
Important : discrimination means unfair behavior towards someone due to their culture, nationality, gender or skin color. Discrimination is against the law in Italy. For example, if a homeowner does not give you the house for rent because you are a foreigner, this is discrimination and is illegal.
Room for rent in a shared house
You can rent a room in a house where other people live. This means that you will share common areas, such as the kitchen and the living room and perhaps the bathroom. You will also be sharing expenses, for example bills. In Italy, people who live in the same house but are not part of the same family are called roommates . Many students and workers decide to live in a rented room because it costs much less than renting a whole house or apartment. It is also a way to meet new people and not feel alone.
