Halls of Residence

Halls of residence are university owned and managed accommodation located on, or very close to, campus. They provide accommodation for students of the university and provide first year students the opportunity to find somewhere safe to live in their new university city. Not all universities will have accommodation for all their students – it may be limited to first years only, but double check with your institution. 

In terms of safety halls are often the best choice for students. Universities are under an obligation to care for their tenants, and halls of residence will be inspected and checked for fire safety and gas hazards regularly. The University will repair any problems that arise, and if you have any special needs they will usually adapt the accommodation to suit.  The cost of renting in halls will be “all in” – tax and bills will be included in the price; in some cases contents insurance will also be included.

Older halls may have additional security in place, i.e. you may have to sign in guests who dont live in halls, seek permission for friends who are staying over and be more considerate of your neighbours than if you were in a self contained flat. The new generation of halls are more laidback allowing you much more freedom and independence.

Considerations to make about halls

There are two types of halls – self catered and catered. Catered halls provide students with two meals a day during the week whereas self-catered halls will have shared kitchens, allowing students to make their own food.

If you are going to stay in catered halls, make sure that the meal times will be convenient for you – will you actually be up in time for breakfast, and back in time for dinner? If you don’t think you will be, you may end up having to pay for two extra meals a day.

Most halls now also have the option of en-suite bathrooms and again this will be reflected in the price. Make sure you visit the halls before deciding on where you want to live. Don’t choose your new home based on the photographs in the brochure. Ask current students their opinions and thoughts to gain a ‘real’ insight on what the accommodation is like.

Private Accommodation

The alternative to living in halls of residence is to choose rented accommodation. There are two ways to do this either renting directly from a landlord or via a rental agency. It can be hard to go straight from your parental home into private accommodation, so it is most common for the majority of first year students to choose halls.

Private renting allows you to live with who you want and where you want. When you are choosing who to live with make sure you think about it carefully. You will be seeing your ‘closest’ friends at their worst, and will most likely learn significant amounts about their attitude to money, cleanliness and noise.

Often private housing provides more freedom but also more responsibilities with less of your own space to escape your friends – particularly if the landlord has turned the living room into an additional bedroom.

Private Halls

The last ten years has also seen the rise of private halls of residence. This is accomoodation which is not linked to the university directly but instead provide hall-style accommodation, suitable for students of all ages. These halls are often much more modern, with rental agreements in place for the full calendar year, rather than just the academic year. Private halls allow students more freedom and privacy but may also be more expensive and less social than traditional halls of residence .

Finding private accommodation

If you have your own flat and have a spare room which you want to rent out, or are looking for a room in a shared house, uk.easyroommate.com can be used to find room mates.

There are special student letting websites which may have rental properties in your area, such as bunk.com and studentpad.co.uk. Most universities will have accommodation offices, in conjunction with other universities and colleges, which have a database of different rental properties within the area. 

If you have found a property that  you are interested in, it is best to go for a viewing to fully examine the property. It allows you to look at not only the house but also the surrounding areas in terms of the services provided and the general feel of the neighbourhood.

Different Forms of Rental Contract

Once you have found a property you wish to rent, the next stage is to sign a contract which specifies the monthly rent, the move in date and when the contract comes to an end. The contract can be written or verbal, but written is better as it provides you with tangible proof if anything is to go wrong. There are different forms which this contract can take but all are legally binding:

The rental agreement may only be issued once specific checks have been undertaken by the landlord or agent – for example credit reference checks. Tenants may be required to pay a deposit or bond to the landlord that they can use as protection against damage occurring in their property. An agent may ask for fees when they are acting on your behalf but they can only issue these once you have found accommodation to which you are moving into. The citizen’s advice bureau has more information about what rental agreements can and cannot consist of - citizensadvice.org.uk .

Leavinghome.info is a site aimed at helping young people who are moving out of their family home and has information about everything to do with renting including a detailed explanation of the legal terms used by landlords.

Problems in Relation to Rent

When you first move into a flat, go into each room and write up a list of all the items, specifying any damage. Take photographs if you feel necessary. Send a copy of this to your landlord, keeping a copy for your own records. This will act as a safeguard should there be any disputes about the condition of the items when you leave.

The following is a brief summary of the different issues which can arise in relation to renting contracts. There is more specific information and legal advice available for free from the following websites – compactlaw.co.uk and venables.co.uk .

One of your flatmates moves out early

If you have a joint tenancy agreement and all flatmates are named on the contract then you are all jointly liable for the property. The rent is calculated per property, not per room, so you will have to pay the difference collectively. You may be able to sue the flatmate who left, but if he/she is a student, it’s unlikely they’ll have much money. If they have a parent as a guarantor, you may be able to seek the rent from them.

There is an increase in rent

If the contract is fixed term with a stated start and finish fate, the landlord cannot legally increase the rent during this period. If you are in the property after the fixed term, the landlord can increase the rent, provided they give you prior notice to their intention. If the landlord does not follow this process, you are entitled to continue to pay the original amount.

Repairs

Landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their accommodation is fit to live in. This means ensuring that the property is wind and water tight, and the property is safe and comfortable. Fixtures and fittings must be in good working order and be suitable to use, and that a basic level of repair is carried out if required.

If you ask for a repair to be performed and the landlord refuses there is a process which you can follow. Withholding your rent as a means of ‘protest’ is not the ideal solution either as the landlord could evict you. Instead follow these steps:

1. Write to the landlord, giving him reasonable time (14 days) to perform the required repairs. Detail in your letter what you need to be done and when it is convenient for this to be carried out. Send the letter recorded delivery and keep a copy of your letter, and the receipt, as evidence.
2. During this period arrange quotes from different companies for the repair.
3. After 14 days, if you have heard nothing from your landlord, write to him again including the quotations you have received. Request that work is carried out within a reasonable period of time (7 days) and state that if the work isn’t carried out you will undertake the repairs yourself. Again send the letter recorded delivery and keep a copy for your own records.
4. If you still haven’t heard anything, then choose the cheapest quotation and start the repairs. Keep all receipts and write to landlord upon conclusion of the repair, enclosing receipts. Threaten to deduct the cost of the repair from your rental payments if payment is not received within 7 days. If no payment is forthcoming then deduct the amount from your rent.

Ensure you keep a copy of all letters as proof, so that if the case is to go to court you have a tangible explanation of why rent has not been paid.

Landlords Responsibilities

1. Outside + inside walls
2. Ceilings
3. Floors
4. Electrical wiring
5. Baths
6. Sinks + toilets
7. Heating + water supply
8. Roofs
9. Gutters + drains
10. Water tanks
11. Stairs
12. Balconies + lifts

Tenants Responsibilities

1. Reporting all repairs & providing access
2. Decoration
3. Toilet seats
4. Dripping floors
5. Sinks + bath plugs
6. Floor covers

Deposit withheld

If your deposit is withheld you need to ask yourself whether this is justifiable. If there is a reason for this, for example you caused damage, then the landlord will have a right to withhold the deposit. If there is no reason you are entitled to receive your deposit back within seven days. However to ensure you receive it back it may be necessary to start legal proceedings but seek advice from your Student Welfare Officer or Citizens Advice bureau.

Eviction

There is a legal procedure that landlords must follow if they wish to evict a tenant. They cannot simply change the locks, harass you or throw your property and possessions out. It is illegal for them to use violence or threaten to use violence, or for them to offer you money to leave. Illegal eviction is a criminal offence, and local authorities can investigate any claims of this sort. Eviction can be split into two categories – mandatory and discretionary.

Mandatory eviction is when a valid reason is behind the landlords wish for you to leave the property. This could be because the owner of the home wishes to return to the home, the house is being repossessed or you have fallen behind, two months or more, in your rent.

Discretionary eviction happens when the landlord asks the court to forcibly legally evict you. This could be because you have broken the terms of your contractual agreement for example you trashed the flat, you are consistently late with paying your rent or you lied to get the flat in the first place.