Top Tips for University Living
Moving into your first shared house at
university can be very daunting as there are so many things you need to learn
to do very quickly that you have never done before. Such as paying bills,
signing important contracts and engaging with landlords. Here are some top tips
for you to make sure you have done everything properly before moving in.
Check over the Important Things
When you find a house that you like you
should ask the letting agents for a full list of fees before you agree to the
property. It is important to remember that letting agents cannot charge you to
register with them or to show you around properties. If they ask you for money
for this, it is best to report them to your university.
You should also ask to see a copy of the
energy performance certificate. This way you can find out how energy efficient
the property is.
If possible it is best to speak to the
current tenants. They will tell you if the property suffers from damp and
whether the landlord or letting agent is easy to get hold of when there is an
issue.
It is best to have your tenancy agreement
checked over by the student union, or even your Citizens Advice Bureau if
possible. If there's anything you're not happy with that they find in the
contract, you can go back to the landlord or letting agent and suggest changes.
Make Sure Your Deposit Is Protected
It is very important that you make sure
your deposit is protected. This way you can get your deposit back safely. When
agreeing to a property your landlord must do two things with your deposit. They
have to protect it within a deposit protection scheme within 30 days of
receiving them from you, and they must give information about which scheme
they're protected with to you.
Know What Type of Contract You're On
Students renting private shared
accommodation can either have separate or joint tenancy agreements. If you have
a joint tenancy, where everyone signs the same tenancy agreement. All tenants
have responsibility for the rent, so if one person does something wrong or
drops out. All tenants may have to pay their share. It can be difficult for one
person to move out when it’s a fixed-term joint tenancy agreement, so know what
contract you have signed before you decided to drop out of university if you
don’t like it. You could be left paying rent when you don’t even live there.
Make an Inventory When You Move In
So you’re at the point where you have
signed for your first shared house. Now you need to make an inventory list of
what is in the house and what is wrong with everything (down to every scratch
on anything). To do this, make sure you look thoroughly at the property when
you move in and note it all down. You will need to give this to your landlord
or agency. This means that if they try and charge you for anything that wasn’t
you, you will have proof that it was already there.
Know How to Contact Your Landlord
Your landlord is responsible for most
repairs in the house and some repairs need to be fixed within a certain amount
of days legally. If they refuse to fix them then you can get advice from an
organisation like Shelter or from your student union (who should be
very helpful).
You need to make sure that you know how to
contact your landlord and that you've asked them how all appliances work. That
way you can talk to them about any repairs before they get worse.
