If Your Living In a Student House You SHOULD REALISE THIS Previous to Letting Student Accommodation
Before you move into any student accommodation landlords have a legal liability to give the Gas Safety assessment for the accommodation.
Landlords are also required by law to take care of their tenants deposits by using a third party, this is known as the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. A landlord must notify their tenants of the holding company they are utilising within 2 weeks of acquiring the deposit – failure for them to do so can result in a fine.
Should a landlord withdraw their house from being let before the Housing Contract is signed all they are required to do is give back the holding deposit to the tenant (this remains true up until the day the tenancy is due to start). Prospective tenants should get the final short hold tenancy contract signed by the Landlord as soon as the points within are mutually agreed.
Tenants will be in a much preferable position to question any charges taken from their deposit if an inventory check is performed prior to fully moving in. If a Landlord or Letting Agent fails to forward the inventory the tenant really should consider producing one. In this circumstance it is also important for the tenancy agreement to be counter signed by either the Landlord or Letting Agent incase of future disputes. Even just a selection of quick photographs that are sent by recorded delivery to the Landlord, or their agent, on the very first day of the Tenancy will do.
The cost of rent per tenant tends to decline as the number of people sharing rises, up to a maximum of four. If a student accommodation is capable of housing 5 or more tenants, it is graded as a ‘House in Multiple Occupation’. This makes it more costly for the landlord to keep up – as a consequence the increased rent per tenant.
It is a common misunderstanding that 1 TV license is needed per address. This is only accurate if student property is let on a shared basis, where there is split responsibility for the rent. If tenants sharing a house have seperate tenancy agreements a license will be required per tenant that has a TV in their room. A prime example of such an occasion would be a flat of 5 students in private or university halls of residence.
Landlords are also required by law to take care of their tenants deposits by using a third party, this is known as the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. A landlord must notify their tenants of the holding company they are utilising within 2 weeks of acquiring the deposit – failure for them to do so can result in a fine.
Should a landlord withdraw their house from being let before the Housing Contract is signed all they are required to do is give back the holding deposit to the tenant (this remains true up until the day the tenancy is due to start). Prospective tenants should get the final short hold tenancy contract signed by the Landlord as soon as the points within are mutually agreed.
Tenants will be in a much preferable position to question any charges taken from their deposit if an inventory check is performed prior to fully moving in. If a Landlord or Letting Agent fails to forward the inventory the tenant really should consider producing one. In this circumstance it is also important for the tenancy agreement to be counter signed by either the Landlord or Letting Agent incase of future disputes. Even just a selection of quick photographs that are sent by recorded delivery to the Landlord, or their agent, on the very first day of the Tenancy will do.
The cost of rent per tenant tends to decline as the number of people sharing rises, up to a maximum of four. If a student accommodation is capable of housing 5 or more tenants, it is graded as a ‘House in Multiple Occupation’. This makes it more costly for the landlord to keep up – as a consequence the increased rent per tenant.
It is a common misunderstanding that 1 TV license is needed per address. This is only accurate if student property is let on a shared basis, where there is split responsibility for the rent. If tenants sharing a house have seperate tenancy agreements a license will be required per tenant that has a TV in their room. A prime example of such an occasion would be a flat of 5 students in private or university halls of residence.
Full time students are exempt from paying council tax however, this is inaccurate for part time students.
Full time students should consider sharing with part time students incase the house as a collective group determine that it is unfair for the part time student to fork out the full council tax bill.
If you are looking for student houses through a letting agent they will charge a referencing fee of between twenty to one hundred pounds per person. In the Selly Oak area a £50 referencing charge is deemed standard. Tenants should try to negotiate this value down as each basic referral will only cost the letting agency in the region of twenty pounds per person. Letting Agents charge considerably bigger fees from the Landlord, considering this they are unlikely to want to lose out on these future charges for the sake of billing future tenants a somewhat lesser fee. Agents can’t charge you for simply looking at a house.
Many housing contracts run for twelve months. Students renting in non-student areas should consider asking for a break clause to be contained into the agreement. This gives the tenants the freedom to give notice at any point during the 2nd half of the agreement.
Student areas are often considered as a hotspot for burglars, as many students have never moved into a property by themselves and security can sometimes be forgotten. Students should ask their landlord for windows and doors to be secured by key controlled locks, and deadlocks respectively. It is also advisable to view properties with working intruder alarms as this provides a key deterrent and can be activated at any time of day when the house is unoccupied.