If Your Living In a Student House You SHOULD UNDERSTAND THIS Prior to Living in Student Accommodation
Before you move into any Student Accommodation landlords have a legal right to give the Gas Safety assessment for the accommodation.
Landlords are also obliged by law to safeguard their tenants deposits by making use of a third party, this is regarded as the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. A landlord must notify their tenants of the holding company they are employing within 2 weeks of acquiring a deposit – failure for them to do so can bring repercussion in the form of a fine.
Should a landlord withdraw their flat from being let before the Housing Contract is signed all they are required to do is return the holding deposit to the tenant (this remains true up until the day the tenancy is due to start). Future tenants should get the final housing contract signed by the Landlord as soon as the points within are agreed.
Tenants will be in a much better position to disagree on any charges deducted from their deposit if an inventory check is administered before entirely moving in. If a Landlord or Letting Agent fails to forward the inventory the tenant really should consider constucting one. In this circumstance it is also pivotal for the document to be counter signed by either the Landlord or Letting Agent incase of future discrepancies. Even just a selection of quick photos that are sent by special delivery to the Landlord, or their agent, on the first day of the Tenancy will suffice.
The price of rent for each tenant tends to decrease as the quantity of people sharing expands, up to a max of 4. If a student accommodation is capable of housing five or more tenants, it is classified as a ‘House in Multiple Occupation’. This makes it more expensive for the landlord to run – therefore the increased cost per tenant.
It is a common misunderstanding that one TV license is required for each property. This is only the case if student property is let on a shared basis, where there is split liability for the rent. If tenants sharing a address have seperate tenancy agreements a license will be required per tenant that has a TV in their room. A prime example of such circumstances would be a house of 5 students in private or university halls of residence.
Full time students are exempt from paying council tax however, this is not true 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 unfair for the part time student to shell out the complete council tax bill.
If you are looking for student accommodation through a letting agent they will demand an agents charge of between £20-100 per tenant. In the Selly Oak area a £50 referencing fee is deemed standard. Tenants should try to drive this figure down as each basic regerral will only cost the letting agency in the region of twenty pounds per person. Letting Agents charge much higher fees from the Landlord, accordingly they are unlikely to want to lose out on these potential charges for the sake of charging prospective tenants a slightly smaller fee. Agents can’t charge you for just looking at a flat.
Many Short Hold Tenancy Agreements run for twelve months. Students letting in non-student regions should think about asking for a break clause to be included into the agreement. This gives the tenants the freedom to give notice at any time during the 2nd half of the agreement.
Student areas tend to be a hotspot for burglars, as many students have never lived in a property by themselves and security can sometimes be disregarded. 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 maintained intruder alarms as this provides a key obstruction and can be activated at any time of day when the house is untenanted.
Landlords are also obliged by law to safeguard their tenants deposits by making use of a third party, this is regarded as the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. A landlord must notify their tenants of the holding company they are employing within 2 weeks of acquiring a deposit – failure for them to do so can bring repercussion in the form of a fine.
Should a landlord withdraw their flat from being let before the Housing Contract is signed all they are required to do is return the holding deposit to the tenant (this remains true up until the day the tenancy is due to start). Future tenants should get the final housing contract signed by the Landlord as soon as the points within are agreed.
Tenants will be in a much better position to disagree on any charges deducted from their deposit if an inventory check is administered before entirely moving in. If a Landlord or Letting Agent fails to forward the inventory the tenant really should consider constucting one. In this circumstance it is also pivotal for the document to be counter signed by either the Landlord or Letting Agent incase of future discrepancies. Even just a selection of quick photos that are sent by special delivery to the Landlord, or their agent, on the first day of the Tenancy will suffice.
The price of rent for each tenant tends to decrease as the quantity of people sharing expands, up to a max of 4. If a student accommodation is capable of housing five or more tenants, it is classified as a ‘House in Multiple Occupation’. This makes it more expensive for the landlord to run – therefore the increased cost per tenant.
It is a common misunderstanding that one TV license is required for each property. This is only the case if student property is let on a shared basis, where there is split liability for the rent. If tenants sharing a address have seperate tenancy agreements a license will be required per tenant that has a TV in their room. A prime example of such circumstances would be a house of 5 students in private or university halls of residence.
Full time students are exempt from paying council tax however, this is not true 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 unfair for the part time student to shell out the complete council tax bill.
If you are looking for student accommodation through a letting agent they will demand an agents charge of between £20-100 per tenant. In the Selly Oak area a £50 referencing fee is deemed standard. Tenants should try to drive this figure down as each basic regerral will only cost the letting agency in the region of twenty pounds per person. Letting Agents charge much higher fees from the Landlord, accordingly they are unlikely to want to lose out on these potential charges for the sake of charging prospective tenants a slightly smaller fee. Agents can’t charge you for just looking at a flat.
Many Short Hold Tenancy Agreements run for twelve months. Students letting in non-student regions should think about asking for a break clause to be included into the agreement. This gives the tenants the freedom to give notice at any time during the 2nd half of the agreement.
Student areas tend to be a hotspot for burglars, as many students have never lived in a property by themselves and security can sometimes be disregarded. 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 maintained intruder alarms as this provides a key obstruction and can be activated at any time of day when the house is untenanted.