Student housing in Nottingham
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Student accommodation's reputation precedes itself.
Report by Francesca Boyd, Platform
The notorious image:
Poorly maintained bed-sits, dodgy landlords and neighbours or noisy university student halls.
The partying is non stop and the fines placed by resident managers are shall we say, mountainous and somewhat selectively placed.
For example, students in halls have been fined for placing an empty box in a kitchen, which may be considered as verging on the ridiculous.
Although many students' experience with housing may not exactly be a ‘bed of roses’, many find the experience to be one of the most fun aspects fleeing the nest and coming to university.
With the onset of the housing list there is a pressure for students to "get in there" first and not end up scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to second year accommodation.
People in search of a new housemate have been leaving leaflets all over the place, landlords have been hanging around the campus trying to spark interest in their student properties, letting agents have been advertising for weeks and the buzz around the halls has been "get your end in now or you’ll be settling for messy seconds".
If you fear that you’ll end up living in a tent somewhere in a field next year, read on because the following advice could hopefully be right up your street.
| Handy hints when house hunting: | - Get a receipt for any moneys paid.
- Check contracts and agreements before you sign, take your time before signing a contract because they are legally binding.
- Once you’ve moved in, tell the landlord if you spot anything that needs repairing.
- Make sure you take gas and electricity meter readings when you move in.
- Get you contents insured student houses are an easy target.
- If there are no smoke detectors ask your landlord to buy some, they aren’t expensive and could save your life.
- If a full inventory of furniture is not available, make one yourself and agree it with your landlord.
*Information taken from "A guide by student advice, The Nottingham Trent University union of students. |
| Things to do and things to don't | Do make sure you use a landlord from the student accommodation accreditation scheme because they will meet the following security standards: *** 3 star: The provision of alarms, security lights and provisional locks and
bolts
** 2 star: The provision of security lights and provisional locks and bolts
* 1 star: The provision of additional locks and bolts
Do postcode your property and note the serial number too, because if goods are seized and cannot be proved to be stolen they will go back to the person they are seized from.
Do ask how long the contract is for.
Do calculate the rent over the whole contract period to get the best deal.
Do ask how much notice you need to give if you leave.
Do always ask for a receipt – especially for cash Do make sure the landlord gives you a copy of the contract and up to date gas safety certificate (renewable annually) at the time you move in.
Do get a copy of the current gas safety certificate.
Don't be pressured in to signing up for a property on the spot unless you are sure.
Don't wait till the very last minute to find somewhere to live. |
Now read about where you could live and how much you should expect to pay. Also read about some experiences of other Nottingham students. |
