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Niveau
B1
Accent
3 accents
Durée
12 min

Flat viewing costs and dates

La réponse courte

Rent is the regular payment for living in the property. A deposit is money paid as security under the rental agreement. Listen for which bills are included, which cost extra, and when the property is available.

À retenir

  • Identify whether every number represents a monthly expense or a one-off deposit.
  • Verify which utility bills are included before calculating your budget, and treat availability dates as the earliest possible start of your lease.
  • Listen for frequency markers like per month or monthly to identify recurring rent.
Commencer la leçon

Cette leçon comporte 5 étapes. Vous pouvez vous arrêter à tout moment et reprendre plus tard.

An estate agent shows an apartment to a prospective tenant near symbols of rent coins, utility icons, a deposit jar, and a calendar with keys.

Étape 1 sur 5

Comprendre

Comprenez le sens, les situations d’emploi et les erreurs à éviter.

Exemples

The monthly rent is eight hundred fifty pounds, payable on the first.

Pourquoi cette forme convient : Monthly rent indicates an ongoing payment that repeats each calendar month.

3 autres exemples
  • Water service is included, but electricity remains the tenant's responsibility.

    Water is covered by the rent in this example. Electricity is an extra cost; the sentence does not specify who sends the bill.

  • A one-thousand-pound security deposit is held in a protected scheme.

    The deposit is a one-off upfront sum designed to protect against property damage.

  • This two-bedroom apartment is available from October fifteenth.

    October fifteenth is the stated availability date. Confirm the agreed move-in date and other terms separately.

Lire le guide complet

8 étapes courtes, avec une question à chaque étape

Deciding Whether an Amount Repeats Monthly

When viewing a rental property, you will hear several large sums of money mentioned in conversation. You must immediately decide whether an amount repeats on a schedule or occurs only once. Phrases such as per calendar month, monthly, or each month signal recurring rent that you must pay continuously throughout your tenancy agreement. Listen for frequency markers immediately following or preceding the dollar or pound figure. Missing a frequency marker often leads to confusing regular living expenses with initial move-in costs.

  • The rent is eight hundred pounds per calendar month.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : The phrase per calendar month confirms this payment repeats every month.

  • Tenants pay nine hundred dollars monthly on the first day.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : Monthly tells you this is an ongoing financial obligation.

À vous

Which phrase indicates that a stated amount must be paid every month?

Voir la réponse

Réponse : payable per calendar month

The term per calendar month explicitly marks the payment as a regular, repeating expense.

Checking Which Utilities Are Part of the Rent

Rental adverts and agents frequently use the adjective included to indicate services covered by the standard rent. When an agent says water is included, your monthly payment covers your domestic water usage, meaning you will not receive a separate bill from the water supplier. Always check exactly which utilities this word applies to during your viewing. In many urban apartments, water and trash collection are included, while electricity and gas heating require independent payment contracts.

  • Cold water and garbage collection are included in the lease.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : The tenant makes no separate payments for water or garbage.

  • Wi-Fi is included in the monthly rental price.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : Internet access is covered by the standard monthly charge.

Pour retravailler ce point, essayez Weather-dependent plans et Burn out.

À vous

What does it mean when an agent says water is included in the rent?

Voir la réponse

Réponse : The monthly rent payment already covers all water charges

Included means the cost is already absorbed into the standard recurring rent amount.

Identifying Separate Living Costs You Must Pay Yourself

Words such as separate, excluded, tenant responsibility, and on top of can identify costs outside the rent. They do not by themselves say who sends the bill or how it is paid. List the extra costs and ask the agent how each one is handled.

  • Electricity is separate and billed directly to the resident.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : The tenant pays the electric power company directly.

  • Heating is excluded from the standard lease amount.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : Heating costs require extra money on top of rent.

À vous

If heating is described as separate from the rent, what does that tell you?

Voir la réponse

Réponse : It is an extra cost outside the rent.

Separate tells us the cost is not included. It does not establish the billing method or who sends the bill.

Distinguishing the Upfront Deposit From Monthly Rent

Keep the deposit separate from the monthly rent in your notes. A deposit is paid as security under the rental agreement. The agreement and applicable rules determine how it is held, returned, or deducted. Do not assume that its amount or treatment is the same for every rental.

  • A security deposit of one thousand dollars is due before handover.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : This one-time payment is held as security and is refundable.

  • Your deposit will be returned if the apartment remains undamaged.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : The example describes a deposit rather than rent. The rental terms determine when it is returned and what deductions may apply.

À vous

In this example agreement, the deposit is held as security and is returnable subject to the agreement’s conditions. How does it differ from monthly rent?

Voir la réponse

Réponse : It is held as security rather than paid as the recurring rent.

The stated agreement distinguishes the security payment from rent. It does not promise a full refund regardless of the terms or applicable rules.

Interpreting Move-In Dates and Availability Windows

Property managers use specific prepositions when discussing when you can begin living in a flat. The phrase available from followed by a date indicates the earliest possible start day for a lease, not a strict move-in deadline. For instance, if an apartment is available from October first, you cannot move in on September twenty-eighth, but you might agree with the landlord to start on October fifth. Clarifying availability early ensures your current lease and new lease align cleanly.

  • The studio is available from the first of November.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : The earliest date you can occupy the property is November first.

  • Keys are available starting on the fifteenth of this month.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : Tenancy can begin on or after the fifteenth.

À vous

What does it mean when a flat is available from October first?

Voir la réponse

Réponse : October first is the earliest date you can begin your lease

Available from marks the starting point of availability, not an expiration date or viewing slot.

Calculating Your Total Initial Move-In Payment

Ask for a list of payments due before moving in. Add the amounts that must be paid separately, and check whether any earlier holding payment is credited toward them. If rent is nine hundred pounds and the deposit is one thousand pounds, your upfront payment is nineteen hundred pounds. That calculation assumes no other charges or credits.

  • Move-in costs require the first month of rent plus the deposit.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : Both the initial rent and the security deposit are paid together upfront.

  • You need eighteen hundred dollars in total before picking up the keys.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : This total combines upfront deposit and initial rent obligations.

À vous

For this offer, the first month’s rent of 800 dollars and a deposit of 1000 dollars are both due now. There are no other charges or credits. What is the total?

Voir la réponse

Réponse : 1800 dollars

Under these stated assumptions, add 800 and 1000. Other offers may have different payment dates, charges, or credits.

Hearing Connected Numbers and Pauses in Fast Speech

In spoken English, leasing agents speak quickly and connect number words directly to financial terms. You might hear twelve hundred a month with reduced vowels or brief linking sounds between numbers and nouns. Notice that speakers place natural stress on the key numerical quantity and pause slightly before introducing utility conditions. Training your ear to catch the word immediately following the number helps you classify whether you heard a rent rate, a deposit amount, or a calendar day.

  • Rent is nine fifty a month, payable online.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : Nine fifty means nine hundred fifty, linked smoothly to a month.

  • That is twelve hundred upfront, then eight hundred monthly.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : Upfront and monthly immediately clarify which number serves which role.

À vous

In this rental example, nine fifty a month refers to a monthly rent of 950. What kind of payment is that?

Voir la réponse

Réponse : Nine hundred fifty dollars or pounds of recurring rent

A month identifies a recurring monthly rent payment here. Confirm the full amount when a spoken price is unclear.

Verifying Spoken Tenancy Terms in the Written Contract

Spoken conversations during a viewing provide essential initial details, but you should never rely solely on memory. Before transferring any deposit money, request an itemized summary or draft tenancy agreement from the agent. Confirm that the written lease reflects the exact rent, included utilities, deposit protection scheme, and agreed move-in date discussed during the viewing. If an agent verbally promised that water was included, check that the written contract does not contradict that statement.

  • Please send an email confirming that water is included in the monthly rent.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : Asking for written confirmation prevents future misunderstandings.

  • The written agreement states that the deposit is held in a protected scheme.

    Pourquoi cette forme convient : Written terms protect the tenant by documenting where deposit funds reside.

À vous

Why should you check the written lease after a verbal flat viewing?

Voir la réponse

Réponse : To ensure written contract terms match what the agent stated verbally

Compare the written terms with what was said so you can ask about differences before agreeing. The comparison alone does not establish legal enforceability.

Un emploi naturel

Comment utiliser « security deposit »

Courant Convient à la plupart des situations, au travail comme entre amis.

Les mots souvent associés

  • pay a security depositYou need to pay a security deposit before you move in.
  • return the security depositThe landlord will return the security deposit next week.
  • refundable security depositThere is a refundable security deposit of five hundred dollars.
  • get your security deposit backAsk when you can get your security deposit back.

D’autres façons de le dire

  • « Are utilities included? » plutôt que « Do utilities require extra billing? » This is a simple way to ask which bills the rent covers.

Vos questions sur « Flat viewing costs and dates »

What is the difference between rent and a deposit?

Rent pays for the period you live in the property. A deposit is paid as security under the rental agreement. Check the agreement for how it is held, when it is returned, and which deductions may apply.

Monthly rent is nine hundred dollars, paid on the first of each month.

The landlord returned my security deposit after inspecting the empty room.

Does bills included always mean every household expense is free?

No, bills included rarely covers every possible service. Usually, it refers to standard utilities like cold water, garbage collection, or sometimes heating. High-speed broadband internet, cable television, and electricity often remain separate contracts that you must arrange and pay individually.

Water is included, but we set up our own electricity account.

The advert said bills included, yet council tax remained separate.

Does available from mean I must move in on that exact day?

No, available from indicates the earliest calendar date on which the property can be occupied. You cannot move in before that date because current tenants might still be moving or cleaning. However, you can negotiate with the landlord to start your lease several days or weeks later.

The flat is available from August first, but my lease starts August tenth.

Why do some landlords ask for a holding deposit before signing?

A holding deposit is a payment connected with reserving a property while an application is considered. Ask what it secures, whether it is refundable, and whether it will count toward another payment. Those details depend on the terms and local rules.

I paid a two-hundred-pound holding deposit while they checked my references.

The holding fee was deducted from my first rent invoice.

Avant de terminer

À retenir

Identify whether every number represents a monthly expense or a one-off deposit. Verify which utility bills are included before calculating your budget, and treat availability dates as the earliest possible start of your lease.

Étape 2 sur 5

Écouter

Écoutez des phrases, des plus courtes aux plus longues, et écrivez les mots entendus.

Choisissez la voix pour vos exercices

0 sur 4 terminés

Écoute 1 sur 4 3 s An estate agent states the basic recurring cost of the flat.

Écoutez, puis écrivez ce que vous entendez. Réécoutez autant de fois que nécessaire.

Les majuscules et la ponctuation ne changent pas votre score.

Écoute 2 sur 4 3 s A landlord explains the move-in date for an empty bedroom.

Écoutez, puis écrivez ce que vous entendez. Réécoutez autant de fois que nécessaire.

Les majuscules et la ponctuation ne changent pas votre score.

Essayez un extrait plus long. Écoutez-le une fois, puis reprenez le passage qui vous a échappé.

Écoute 3 sur 4 6 s A property manager explains utility responsibilities during an inspection.

Écoutez, puis écrivez ce que vous entendez. Réécoutez autant de fois que nécessaire.

Les majuscules et la ponctuation ne changent pas votre score.

Cet extrait est plus long. Suivez la consigne au-dessus du champ de réponse.

Écoute 4 sur 4 23 s An agent gives a full verbal summary of terms at the end of a viewing.

Écoutez, puis complétez les mots manquants. Le reste du texte est déjà affiché.

Welcome into this bright one-bedroom flat. Monthly is nine hundred euros, payable upon each Monday. Water is always included in that price, while bills remain your personal responsibility. You must place a deposit into our escrow bank account, which one full month of rent. Move-in is open on November

Étape 3 sur 5

Parler

Répétez en même temps que l’enregistrement, puis réutilisez ce que vous avez appris dans votre propre réponse.

Répétition simultanée

Parlez en même temps que la voix

Écoutez la phrase au ralenti, puis parlez en même temps que la voix. Reproduisez aussi le rythme, pas seulement les mots.

Étape 4 sur 5

Écrire

Rédigez votre propre réponse

You attended a viewing for a one-bedroom flat. Write an email to the leasing agent asking which utility bills are included in the nine-hundred-dollar monthly rent and which expenses you must pay separately. Write 30 to 50 words.

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Appuyez-vous sur ces points pour améliorer votre message. La grammaire et le sens ne sont pas évalués automatiquement. Chaque consigne conserve son propre brouillon dans cet onglet.

Étape 5 sur 5 · Inclus dans l’abonnement

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