Before you move into any student accommodation landlords have a legal responsibility to provide the Gas Safety document for the accommodation.
Landlords are also obliged by law to preserve their tenants deposits by making use of a third party, this is acknowledged as the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. A landlord must notify their tenants of the holding company they are employing within two 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 Tenancy Agreement is signed all they are required to do is give back the holding deposit to the tenant (this remains correct up until the day the tenancy is due to commence). Prospective tenants should get the final housing contract signed by the Landlord as soon as the items noted are agreed.
Tenants will be in a much preferable position to question any charges docked from their deposit if an inventory check is conducted prior to completely moving in. If a Landlord or Letting Agent hasn’t forward the inventory the tenant should consider producing one. In this event it is also crucial for the housing contract to be counter signed by either the Landlord or Letting Agent incase of future discrepancies. Even just a couple of digital photographs that are sent by recorded delivery to the Landlord, or their agent, on the first day of the Tenancy will be very helpful in the long run.
The fee of rent per tenant tends to fall as the number of people sharing expands, up to a maximum of four. If a student flat is able to house 5 or more tenants, it is categorised as a ‘House in Multiple Occupation’. This makes it more costly for the landlord to keep up – hence the increased cost per tenant.
It is a typical misconception that 1 television license is required per property. This is only accurate if student property is let on a shared basis, where there is split liability for the rent. If tenants sharing a property have individual tenancy agreements a license will be needed for each tenant that has a TV in their room. A prime example of such an event would be a flat of 5 students in private or university halls of residence.
Full time students are not liable for paying council tax however, this is not the case for part time students. Full time students should consider sharing with part time students incase the house as a combined entity determine that it is biased for the part time student to pay out the total council tax bill.
If you are looking for student accommodation through a letting agent they will bill an agents charge ranging between tenty to one hundred pounds per tenant. In the Birmingham region a £50 agents charge is considered normal. Tenants should try to negotiate this number down as each basic reference will only cost the letting agency in the region of £20 per person. Letting Agents charge considerably higher fees to the Landlord, accordingly they are unlikely to want to lose out on these future charges for the sake of billing potential tenants a slightly smaller fee. Agents can’t charge you for just viewing a house.
Many tenancy contracts run for 12 months. Students letting in non-student areas should think about asking for a break clause to be written 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 a large proportion students have never lived in a house by themselves and security can sometimes be overlooked. Students should ask their landlord for windows and doors to be secured by key operating locks, and deadlocks respectively. It is also advisable to view flats with working intruder alarms as this provides a key hinderance and can be activated in the day or evening when the house is vacant.
