Should I sell or rent out my flat as it would not suit our needs if my partner moved in?

theguardian.com:

Q I am nearing the end of the fixed-rate deal for the mortgage on my flat. My partner and I are planning on moving in together sometime in the next 12 months. My flat doesn’t suit both of our needs, so we would probably need to rent a new property together.

Am I better off selling my flat and having the equity (and existing cash savings) ready to put down as a deposit on a new home, either jointly or independently, in a year or two; or should I seek to rent out my flat? I don’t have much knowledge of agents’ fees, and other costs and taxes associated with renting it out; what can I expect? Based on my initial workings, I suspect I would be hoping to at best break even rather than to make a profit from renting it out.

If I decided to (and was able to) rent it out, I would want to be a good landlord, including by offering the option of longer-term tenancies. Regardless of any changes to my relationship status, I do not want to remain living in my flat for the long term. Selling the flat seems like the simplest option, and would give me a bigger deposit for my next home, but what are the risks in doing so? Would keeping my flat serve me better as a long-term investment? SH

A Given that you don’t want to stay in your flat long term and are going to sell it at some point, I wondered why you don’t just sell it now and buy another property that does suit both of your needs. But maybe your partner doesn’t want to live in a property that is owned by you (not that I can think why that would be a problem). If that is the case, then your choice, as you have laid out, is between selling your flat and renting it out.

Selling is, as you say, the simplest option but if you are not planning to buy somewhere else straight away, you’ll miss