You Break It You Pay For It: Student Housing Advice

As a student leaving home for the first time the thought of going to live with other students is an exciting one. Living with other like-minded individuals, staying up until the small hours of the morning and bonding over Pot Noodles are all part of the student lifestyle and some of the most enjoyable years of your life will be spent in student accommodation. However, living in rented property isn’t all fun and games and it’s important to remember that the house or flat is not owned by you or your fellow students. There are rules that must be adhered to – rules laid out by a landlord when signing a rental agreement and national flat inventory.

Getting back your deposit

When you move into a rented property, the landlord will generally ask for a deposit. This maybe to the sum of one month’s rent, maybe two months’ rent – either way, you are going to be handing over a significant amount of cash.

The idea behind taking a deposit from the landlord’s point of view is that it gives you as the tenant an incentive to look after the house. What it also does is provide the landlord with some financial collateral should any damage show up in the end of tenancy inventory report.

To ensure that everyone is able to have their deposits returned without dispute, you should lay down some ground rules before moving in.

First, every person living in the property should be clear about the rental agreement and what is and is not allowed. Establish how much rent each individual has to pay and when. It can be a good idea to have each member of the household pay their share of the rent by direct debit, this way everyone can avoid lending money and the risk of jeopardising a friendship over disputes.

There should also be a common understanding that whoever breaks something pays for it. That way bills will not end up falling in the lap of other students.

Try to spend as much time together as a group as possible, that way you can all pull together to abide by the rules of the landlord and air any grievances without causing too much tension.

UK property inventories

UK property inventories are an essential part of the rental agreement and something that should be done before you move in and after you move out. Generally, the landlord will compile a property inventory and you will be required to sign it, declaring that the condition of the home and its contents is as the document says. If the landlord does not provide you with an inventory report it is well worth investing in rental inventory services. UK companies carrying this type of report are comprehensive in what they do and will check the house top to bottom for damage, ticking off items down to the last piece of cutlery.

It is also worth carry out regular inventories yourself during your tenancy, just to ensure everything is as it should be.

An inventory report will help prevent disputes over damage and the general condition of a home (usual wear and tear is allowed) and should be signed by all parties involved in the rental agreement.
Before moving out of the home, you should give yourself a few weeks to carry out any cleaning and minor repairs. Schedule an appointment with the landlord at least a week before you move out. This way, anything that is flagged can be rectified. As long as you have kept to the inventory checklist, there will be no dispute over the returning of your deposit.

Living in rented accommodation with fellow students should always be an enjoyable experience that results in you receiving your deposit back and the end of the tenancy. The arrangement of UK property inventories will help ensure that you do get your money back, and we all know how much you’ll need it!