There are many things you need to be aware of when you start looking for a shared student home. Most students live in halls of residence or other types of university accommodation throughout their first year, and the rent is usually divided into payments to suit your loan. Living in private accommodation isn’t as straightforward as living in university accommodation, and how easy it is for you will depend on your landlord. If you decide to find your property through a letting agency who specialise in student homes they will probably be considerate of your student lifestyle, for example, they might allow you to pay rent in instalments (instead of monthly) to match your student loan payments. Landlords might also consider giving you an all-inclusive amount to pay for your rent, which includes bills – this is recommended because sorting bills in a shared house can be problematic and there is a lot of organisation/hassle involved!

If you’ve decided to find a property owned by a private landlord there are certain precautions you can take to cover yourself. Hundreds of thousands of students opt for a private landlord and the majority have no problems but there are certain cases where private landlords have conned students out of money, usually their deposits. So what can you do to be student accommodation savvy?

Tenancy Deposit Schemes (TDS)

These schemes were proposed when students were complaining of not getting their deposits back for unfair reasons. A tenancy deposit scheme will keep your deposit protected until the end of your tenancy and will be released when you are entitled to it. The scheme also protects landlords, if there are issues with the house that have been caused by the tenant then they may not receive all of their deposit back. It’s a good idea to take photos of any damage in the property before you move in and discuss this with the landlord to make sure all repairs are going to be actioned.

Rent Arrears

If you find yourself in rent arrears, do not panic! Most landlords are forgiving and should understand if you are a student. Firstly, try and compromise with your landlord, send him your loan instalment plan so he knows when your next payment is due and set up a direct debit to send the rent straight to your landlord’s account as soon as the money’s in. If your landlord will not accept waiting for your rent there are hardship funds available at university for those struggling financially. Apply for a hardship loan or grant to help you get out of your arrears.

Bills, Bills, Bills

You may not be accustomed to organising and paying your own bills after living in halls in residence as they are normally all-inclusive. Private landlords do offer the option of bills included but the majority do not so you will need to try and organise a payment plan for all bills (including your TV license, which students seem to resent paying!). The cheapest way is setting up a direct debit but whoever sets the direct debit up will need to trust that their housemates will cough up the money when the time comes. Another easy option is to manage all bills online and pay separately. Add an extra £10 a week on to your rent to account for gas and electricity bills (it won’t be this much in summer but in the winter months it certainly will).

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Shepherd Gilmour, letting agents offering Manchester property to let.

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Shepherd Gilmour (http://www.shepherdgilmour.com), Manchester estate and letting agents.

Author Bio: Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Shepherd Gilmour, letting agents offering Manchester property to let.

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: manchester letting agents, manchester estate agents