Most people living in rented flats and houses realise that their landlord will kick them out sooner or later if they fall behind with rent payments.

Failing to pay your rent is not the only way you can get yourself evicted, though. Here, we examine the various misdemeanors you should avoid if you don't want to end up on a friend's sofa – or worse still, on the streets.

Despite their fame and enormous wealth, even A-list celebrities are not immune to the effects of the housing market slowdown.

And pop princess Kylie Minogue knows this only too well after having to slash the asking price of her luxury, four-bedroom London flat by more than £500,000.

A third of smokers lie about their need to light up when seeking a home to rent, according to new research from flatshare website Easyroommate.

And with less than one in 10 landlords allowing tenants to smoke in their properties, it's not hard to see why.

Homeowners who bought houses and flats at the peak of the market may face four more years of negative equity, according to the National Housing Federation (NHF).

Its figures suggest that the average buyer paid £216,800 for a home in 2007 – when the market was at its most overblown. And the signs so far are that it could take until 2014 for those who bought at this point to see the value of their homes exceed the purchase price.

But how much work are we prepared to take on to achieve the perfect living space? New research from mortgage lender Halifax suggests that the gulf between the type of properties we aspire to and the homes available on the UK market, the answer is often as much as it takes.