We realise that many students probably haven’t rented a property before and have a load of questions about how it works. There are a few things that you need to think about. We have put together this list to try and help.  Most of this applies whether you rent from us or someone else.  

Who to share with

You will have a number of friends who want to share a house. Unfortunately houses may not be available with the number of rooms you need. It may sound obvious but you need exactly as many rooms as friends. You cannot double up in rooms and any empty rooms will still have to be paid for. Try to be flexible in the size of the group. This does require some diplomacy. We have houses for 3,5 or 8 people.

What sort of place

Do you want to be near University, near town, buzzing area or quiet street? Do any of the group have a car, do you need parking, do you need to be near a bus service? Do you prefer a flat or a house?

When to start looking

People will tell you not to rush into signing up for a property. This is good advice, however, the best properties are let first and if you leave it too late you may only have a choice of the less desirable places. Most properties start to be advertised towards the end of the first term. Between Christmas and Easter is the peak of activity. 

Where to look

The York City Council website is a good place to start. They list accommodation that complies with their Code of Best Practice. They also list all the letting agents and estate agents.

Tenancy agreements

It is important to have a written tenancy agreement as this sets out the responsibilities of both the landlord and the tenant. It is vital if there is any disagreement between the landlord and tenant and is a legal document.

Most landlords or agents use the  Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement. This is a standard agreement but you must read it thoroughly as there will be clauses specific to the landlord and the property. We use the form as issued by the National Landlords Association so that our agreements fully comply with the legislation and are up to date. We can let you have a sample agreement.

Landlords v Agents

The landlord owns the property, but many landlords use letting agents to manage the tenancy. Agents are responsible for all aspects of letting the house and the landlord may never even visit. The agent finds the tenant, draws up the agreement, organises deposits, rental payments, access, repairs  and anything else that’s necessary. The agent charges the landlord a percentage of the rent for providing this service. Some agents have hundreds of properties on their books and it can sometimes prove difficult to get things done.  

We don’t use agents. If you rent from us you will always deal directly with us. We only have a few properties so can respond to any problems immediately.

 

HMO’s

HMO’s are Houses in Multiple Occupancy. In York, any rental property with more than 2 unrelated residents is defined as a HMO. If the property has either 5 or more occupants in 3 or more storeys, or there are more than 7 occupants the property must have a HMO licence issued by City of York Council. The Council inspect all properties that fall into this category and check that the landlord is a responsible person. If you are thinking of renting any property that is covered by the HMO rules you should ask to see the licence. It is a criminal offence not to be licenced.

National Landlords Association and Student Accommodation Services

Legislation and minimum standards for student accommodation change regularly. It is important for your safety and comfort that student houses comply with the latest regulations. We are members of of the National Landlords Association and fully comply with the York Code of Best Practice for Student Accommodation.

Tenancy periods

Most student rental periods are for 12 months. Most undergraduate rentals run from July. We start our rentals on the 1st July and then they end just after term ends in the summer, 30th June. If you have university work or other commitments during the summer between academic years you will then have somewhere to live.

Parental guarantees

Some landlords and agents ask for parental guarantees to try and ensure that they get paid. We think that anyone at university and over 18 is an adult and should be responsible for their own affairs. Our contract is just with you and if we need to take legal action it will also be with you. We never have had to do this.  We don’t mind if parents set up the payments.

Safety  Smoke fire etc

The safety of student tenants should be an absolute priority. When visiting a property make sure that it has functioning smoke, fire and carbon monoxide detectors. There should also be emergency lighting if appropriate and fire extinguishers. All our properties are fully equipped and regularly tested.

Insurance

The landlord should have insurance that covers the property and fixtures and fittings that belong to him. The landlord’s insurance will not cover tenant’s possessions. Most household insurance policies cover items away from the home or specific student policies are available. It is important to check that your stuff is insured.

Repairs

Things sometimes break, wear out, or not work. If you check the tenancy agreement you can find what you are responsible for and what is the landlord’s problem. If it is something that the landlord is responsible for they should fix it within a reasonable time. We try to respond as soon as possible and if we can’t complete the work we have a number of companies we can call.

Rent payments

Rent payments may be monthly or three monthly depending on the agreement.  They are always due at the start of the period. We usually have monthly payments but some students like to pay three month’s rent as soon as they receive their loan. This means they know it’s paid and don’t have to worry about budgeting for it. We ask for the first month’s rent to be paid two weeks before the start of the tenancy. This is just to ensure that payment is received in time for any problems to be resolved before you move in.

Holding fee

When you have found a property and decided to rent it, it is usual to pay a holding fee so that both you and the landlord have some security. You should not pay any holding fee until you have seen the property and read the tenancy agreement. We charge one month’s rent as the holding fee and as soon as the agreement is signed we convert this into the deposit.

Deposits

All landlords will ask for a deposit. This is to cover any damage that may occur during the tenancy. We ask for a deposit equal to one month’s rent.

Fees

Some landlords and agencies charge a fee for administration or for taking references etc. It is worth checking exactly what the fees are before you sign anything. We don’t charge any fees, we think they should be covered by the rental payments.

 

Gas, water, electricity bills

Always check exactly which utility bills are included and which you have to pay. If utility bills are included the landlord will have added more than enough to cover the costs. This will almost certainly cost the tenant more than paying their own bills and there is no incentive to be economical with energy or water. If you want to pay your own bills it is not difficult to sign up with a supplier and we’ll help you do it. You do have to budget and then share out the costs between all the tenants though. 

Broadband

Broadband is essential and is a fixed monthly cost so we do include unlimited superfast broadband in our rents. Again just check what you get.

Council tax

If a property is wholly occupied by students there is no council tax to pay. You do need to let the council know and this is easily done on the York Council website. We’ll give you the link to do this.

Neighbours

Wherever you live you will have neighbours. It’s always worth saying hello. They can take in parcels for you and keep an eye on the house.

Noise

You will be living in a residential area and we know you will have parties but please be sensible and think of the neighbours.

Moving in and out

There are a lot of things to remember when you move in and out. We provide a check list so you can tick them off.

Cleaning

Any property should be clean when you move in. We make sure that ours are. If the house is left in a dirty condition you will lose some or all of your deposit. It is much easier to have a clean up regularly than leave it all till you move out. It also makes it a much nicer place to live.
 

Food

All houses should have adequate fridge and freezer space and a cupboard for dry goods. It is up to you how you organise cooking but it is much more efficient and cheaper if groups of tenants share cooking duties and food.

 

Damage

Accidents sometimes happen and damage can occur. It is always better to let the landlord know than for him to find out later. Don’t try to cover anything up or do your own repairs as this will lead to more of your deposit being withheld.

 

Travel

When you are looking at properties just check how far they are from university or town, and how long it will take to there. Is there a bus service? Is there a safe cycle route? Is there car parking?

Contact details

Before you sign anything make sure you have the landlord’s or agents, address, email, and phone numbers. You will need to contact them.

Joint tenancy

An Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement can either be for an individual or can be a joint agreement. Individual agreements mean that everyone in the house has a separate agreement with the landlord. Most student tenancies are written as joint agreements. One tenant will be nominated as lead tenant and all the others will be named on the documents. The rent and deposit will be the total for the house and this will be split between all the students. You should know that the legal position is that each tenant is ultimately responsible for all the rent. If one or more of the tenants fail to pay their share the landlord can pursue any or all of the tenants for the total rent. Also if a tenant decides to leave part way through a tenancy they must continue to pay their share as it is the responsibility of all tenants to pay the rent. We thought you should know this.

Deposit Protection

It is a legal requirement that your deposit is protected by an approved scheme within 30 days of paying it. We use mydeposits.co.uk. If there is any dispute regarding repayment of a deposit mydeposits will adjudicate. When the deposit is registered you will get a certificate and it appears the the website so that you can check.

Security

It is not difficult for thieves to work out which are student houses and they know you have lots of toys. Make sure that you lock up when you leave and keep windows locked. Don’t lend keys to people and don’t hide them anywhere.

TV Licence

You need one. It is your responsibility to have a TV licence. Unless the rooms are self contained, that is they have cooking and bathing facilities, the house only needs one licence.

 

Furniture

The landlord should have provided a minimum amount of furniture in reasonable condition. Most of our rooms have a double bed, desk, chair, wardrobe, drawers, shelves and a notice board. We also provide a TV, sofas, dining table and chairs, and kitchen equipment. When you look round a property make sure you know what you get. You will need to provide your own bedding, cutlery, crockery, pans and cleaning materials.

Inventory and condition report

When you move into the house you should be given an inventory detailing everything that is included and a condition report listing any wear or damage. It is important that you check this and let the landlord know if anything is missing or if you disagree with the condition of anything.

Viewing

Don’t sign anything until you have viewed the property. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t feel pressurised into signing up or paying any fees. Have a look around the area if you don’t know it. Where are the shops, pub, bus stop etc.

Room sizes and bathrooms

The York Code of Best Practice sets out minimum room sizes and provision of bathrooms. Minimum room size where there is a separate living room is 6.5m² If there is no separate living area it should be 10m²  There should be at least one bath/shower/wc between every 5 people. Our maximum is three.

Communal areas

Some landlords use every room as a student bedroom. This means there is no communal living area which make the house very unsocial. We always have a living area that large enough for all the tenants.

Keys

You will be given a set of keys. The landlord will also hold a set. If you lose your keys the landlord will charge you to get another set cut.

Inspections

The landlord or agent will want to call in sometimes to check on things. He must give you at least 24 hours notice that he is going to call. The only exception is in case of an emergency. We will visit at the end of each term but may have to call during term for maintenance purposes. We will always give you as much notice as possible. If you want to see us about something just let us know.

 

Tenant contact details

The landlord will need contact details for all the tenants. We prefer to use email but we do take a phone number as well. We also need tenants permanent home address and phone number so that we can contact them after they leave if we need to forward post or return lost items.

PAT

Acronym for portable appliance testing. The landlord must test all portable electrical equipment for safety every two years. All portable electrical equipment should have a green PAT sticker with the test date on it. When we carry out the PAT test on our equipment we also offer to test any of the students equipment free.

EPC

Another acronym, this is Energy Performance Certificate. The landlord has to provide an EPC for every property. This then tells you how energy efficient the house is so you can judge what your gas and electricity bills will be.

We hope that the information above helps you to make an informed decision about renting a property.  If you would like to look at any of our houses or have any other questions just get in touch.