Before you move into any student accommodation landlords have a legal liability to provide the Gas Safety document for the building.

Landlords are also required due to law to protect their tenants deposits by using a third party, this is known as the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. A landlord must advise their tenants of the holding company they are employing within 2 weeks of accepting the deposit – failure for them to do so can bring repercussion in the form of a fine.

Should a landlord withdraw their property 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 true 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 points within are agreed. 

Tenants will be in a much preferable position to question any charges deducted from their deposit if an inventory check is conducted before entirely moving in. If a Landlord or Letting Agent fails to forward the inventory the tenant really should consider putting together one. In this occasion it is also important for the housing contract to be counter signed by either the Landlord or Letting Agent incase of future disputes. Even just a set of digital photos that are sent by recorded delivery to the Landlord, or their agent, on the very first day of the Tenancy will suffice.

The price of rent for each tenant tends to drop as the number of people sharing increases, up to a maximum of four. If a student property is able to house five or more tenants, it is grouped as a ‘House in Multiple Occupation’. This makes it more high priced for the landlord to sustain – therefore the increased cost for each tenant.

It is a common misconception that 1 TV license is needed for each house. This is only the case if student accommodation is let on a shared basis, where there is split liability for the rent. If tenants sharing a flat have seperate tenancy agreements a license will be required for each tenant that has a television 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 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 group determine that it is not fair 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 charge a referencing charge of between twenty to one hundred pounds per tenant. In the Birmingham region a fifty pounds agents charge is deemed average. Tenants should try to barter this number down as each basic referral will only cost the letting agency around twenty pounds per tenant. Letting Agents charge much bigger fees from the Landlord, for that reason they are unlikely to want to lose out on these future charges for the sake of billing future tenants a rather smaller fee. Agents can’t charge you for just looking around accommodation.

Most tenancy contracts last for twelve months. Students letting in non-student regions should think about asking for a break clause to be contained into the agreement. This gives the tenants the freedom to give notice at any time during the 2nd half of the agreement.

Student areas have always been a hotspot for burglars, as a large proportion students have never occupied a flat 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 bolts respectively. It is also advisable to view accommodation with functional burglar alarms as this provides a key hinderance and can be activated in the day or evening when the house is unoccupied.