Renting as a Student
Renting as a student can be your first experience of living in a rented property and there is a lot to consider, both before, during and after moving into your new place.
Looking for a house, flat or room:
The first thing I would advise you do when searching for somewhere to live would be to talk to students in the years above you. You’ll find out if any landlords or properties have particularly good or bad reputations and also get a feel for the most student friendly areas to live. (You might not want to end up in the middle of a quiet residential street with grumbling neighbours!)
Know what you are looking for; is there a group of you looking to share? Do you just need a room? If you are a large group wanting to live together you may give yourself more options looking for two smaller places close to each other alongside any larger properties in the area. If you are moving into a spare room with other tenants make sure you meet them first, as it is important you feel comfortable around them. Find out what’s included in the rent, when you look round you may find items such as desks, TV’s and even Telephones are the tenants own, this may be a deciding factor depending on what you will bring with you.
It’s also advisable to work out the distances attached to properties you’re looking at. What’s most important to you? It may be worth sacrificing being close to Uni in favour of a property close to a supermarket or even the train station for rolling in after a night on the town!
The final piece of advice would be to strike when the irons hot. Most student towns have a small number of good finds that are value for money high quality properties, a vast number of average ones and even a few bad eggs! Although you want to avoid ending up in one of the bad ones don’t dilly dally for too long as the best places will be snapped up quickly. Most student lets are for 12months or less so it’s good to remember you’re not tied to a property if you find something better for the following year.
Living in your student house:
Although your house (or flat) should be clean and well maintained, don’t expect the heights of modern design. It’s not unusual to find a lurid lino in your bathroom and something resembling your grannies three piece in the lounge. The best piece of advice I can give is to look to your house as a blank canvas. It’s only in your student years that you can get away with an erratic house, and it’s somewhere that will hold a lot of memories in years to come. Throws and cushions are a great way to personalise that lovely floral couch. Make the most of all those embarrassing snaps that were taken while you weren’t looking, a photo montage of you and your housemates’ student days, dotted with souvenirs you have picked up along the way can be a great way to personalise your home, without causing too much damage to the walls.
It’s rare to find a student who actually enjoys washing up, let alone cleaning the toilet. But you’ve got to face it; it’s unlikely someone else is going to do it for you. The most important thing to remember is to be respectful of each other’s space. It’s up to you if you want to leave your washing up for that monthly blitz but try not to let it take over the whole kitchen, and if it’s getting to your housemates, it may be worth keeping on top rather than causing tension in the house. Students do carry a certain amount of stigma, as messy, unhygienic, and generally bad tenants, this means it’s not unusual for landlords to be hot on the trail of any damages or complaints. Try to keep on top of the cleaning and open windows after steamy showers, this means that any maintenance that needs doing during your time in the house is less likely to be pinned on you.
Maintain a good relationship with your landlord. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the appliances, if you suspect something is on its last legs its probably best to alert your landlord to your suspicions so it’s not a shock if it does suddenly die on you. Make sure you know what’s listed on the inventory and keep track of items that might go walk about. Most importantly keep up to date on your rent payments, if you do find yourself in financial difficulty contact your landlord sooner rather than later. Trying to work out a manageable way to keep on top of the costs together is likely to be easier than annoying your landlord with repeated late or missing payments.
Some houses include bills within the rent, but in those that don’t it’s important to have a system in place. Setting the bill account up may be up to you, or the landlord may have something in place, your landlord will be able to advise you on what is required from you. Most people find it easiest just to split the bills evenly between those living together, however if there is a significant difference in the time each person spends in the house it can be fairer to have a more precise split. A useful formula to use is to: work out how many weeks each of you spent in the house during the time the bill covers. Add each of your totals up and divide the bill amount by this total. You then have a rate per week which can be multiplied by the individual totals per person. For example Jane, Tom, and Anna all live together they have an electricity bill covering 12 weeks. The bill is £120. Jane was living in the house for 12 weeks, Tom was only there for 6 and Anna lived there for 10. So the total is 28. £120/28=4.285714…, round this to £4.28 per week. Jane’s share is £4.28 x 12=£51.36. Tom’s share is £4.28 x 6=£25.68. Anna’s share is £4.28 x 10=£42.80. This brings the total to £119.84 which is 16p short; this can happen if the bill amount doesn’t divide perfectly. It is normally such a small amount you can either split it between yourselves or take it in turns to pay the extra.
Leaving your student house:
Even in the shortest lets don’t be surprised at how much you manage to accumulate during your stay. Doesn’t matter how well it fitted into those boxes when you moved in its not going to fit back in. Vacuum packing; Clothes, pillows, and most importantly bedding can be a bulky nightmare when trying to fit all your stuff into the car, but hooray for some clever chap that invented vacuum bags. Just stuff it all in and suck all the air out with the Hoover to half the space your using. Just throwing all your bits and bobs in a box may seem quick and easy but it pays to take your time and find a space efficient way to fit everything in. Wrap your breakables in old newspapers or magazines and stuff the gaps in between with more paper to keep them safe on the journey.
Your landlord will have gone through an inventory with you when you first moved in, it’s a good idea to check everything on the list and make sure it’s in its proper place. If your landlord took a deposit any missing or badly damaged items are likely to be taken from your deposit. Hopefully you have kept your landlord informed of any problems along the way, as it’s perfectly plausible that some older appliances may have broken or worn beyond your control, your landlord should make allowances for everyday wear and tear.
The property will probably need to be left in the same condition as when you moved in. So make sure it is clean and tidy, if the landlord feels its necessary to get industrial cleaners in, he can also be warranted to charge this to your deposit. If any items such as rugs or appliances that you have brought yourself you decide to leave in the property its best to tell your landlord so it is not misconstrued as you abandoning stuff for him/her to dispose of.
Finally…My Top Ten Tips for renting as a student.
1.Get Advice from people in years above you.
2.Respect your housemates’ space.
3.Keep track of your inventory.
4.Work out the best way to manage your bills.
5.Act quickly on good finds- you’re probably not the only one interested
6.Read your contract carefully.
7.Even if you want to stay in the house for 2 or more years only sign up for 12 months or less, this gives you the option to move if it doesn’t work out.
8.Be space efficient when packing up your belongings.
9.Keep your options open when it comes to the type and location of properties you look at.
10.Have fun! It’s not where you are but what you do with your student days that make them!
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