Finding your House

Happy 2019 everyone!

With the arrival of the New Year, students start to look for their future accommodation.

Although it is common for most students to stay in university residences when they are freshers, this change when they start their second year. In fact, they start to look at private accommodation. So here is some advice to make your house hunting easier:

DO YOUR RESEARCH

When you start university, within the first few weeks you start to feel the pressure to look for houses for next year. Stop there! There is always plenty of student accommodation available throughout the year, so you have time to get to know people, your course, your budget, and the city, before you find the right house for you and your housemates.

Consider all your options carefully because once you sign a contract, this is a legally binding document. Most tenancy contracts are for a fixed period of time and so don’t allow you to leave the contract before the end of the fixed term: if you decided to not move in the property, you would still have to pay the rent.

When you are researching houses, make sure to shop around and book plenty of house viewings to make sure you find the right one for you. Think about:

• · location and rent

• · contracts

• · length of contracts

• · associated costs

LOCATION AND RENT

The majority of students try to live close to the University campus in the Cathays and Roath areas. But there are also other practical things you should consider. For example, bedroom size- is someone happy to have a smaller room? And will this impact the amount of rent they pay? Do you require a washing machine? How will you pay bills (if not included in your rent)?

How to find housing?

There are a number of ways to find accommodation, whether you are looking for a house with your friends, a room in a shared house, or housemates to share a house with:

· Letting agents

There are many letting agents in Cardiff that rent out whole properties or rooms in shared properties. Make sure to use those who adhere to professional standards such as ARLA, ALMA, NALS and NAEA.

It is worth noting that Cardiff Student Letting agency is very popular with students and students often advice to book an appointment with them and go to have an informal chat and look through your options. This letting agency is run by the Student’s Union and they don’t charge an agency fee (unlike most other agencies).

Search online

You can also search for properties, room and housemates online using:

• Rightmove

• 2Let2

• Pinnacle

• CPS Homes

• Living Room

• Jeffrey Ross

• Capital Properties

• Issa

University services

The Student Advice Team in the Student Union keep a list of rooms available in shared houses, and also those looking for rooms.

If you prefer to live in University Halls of Residence, you can contact the Residences team to find out if they have any availability.

However, if you will be in Cardiff for 6 moths or less, contact the Global Opportunities team as they keep a list of rooms to let being advertised by ongoing exchange students.

CONTRACTS

Make sure to view the property before you sign!

Pictures can be misleading so always make sure to visit the property before signing a contract. Make sure to look out for any pre-existing damage, signs of mould or any other obvious issues. Talk with the current tenants to find out about their experience and if they have any issues (how helpful the landlord/letting agent has been at resolving them?

If you do spot some issues and the landlord/letting agent agrees to solve them, make sure you get this in writing.

LENGTH OF TENANCY

The majority of tenancy contracts are assured shorthold and has a fixed period. This means that they will likely be for a minimum of 12 months, although some landlords/letting agents offer 6 months contracts.

If your housemates and you have found a house you are all happy with, the Student Advice Team (based on the 3rdfloor of the SU) can double-check your contract before you sign. This is to make sure that you all understand what you are signing for.

ASSOCIATED COSTS

• · Agency Fee – admin fee charged by letting agents to sig up one of their houses.

• · Deposit – money taken as insurance against any damage or loss of rent that may occur. It is usually one month’s rent and it is protected by a Tenancy Deposit Scheme. It should be returned to you at the end of the contract if the damage or loss occurred.

• · Guarantor – Someone who guarantees that the rent will be paid in the event that the student doesn’t pay. Must be a UK-based guarantor but if you are unable to provide one due to various reasons, then you may be eligible to apply to the Cardiff University Guarantor Scheme.

• · Council Tax – Most full-time students don’t have to pay it. Make sure to get more information and your exemption certificate on the student intranet.

• · Summer Rent – You might be able to pay half or reduced rent during this period but can’t actually move into the property until September. It all depends on your contract so always enquire with your landlord or letting agent.

• · Bills – liable for them once the contract starts (if not included in the rent).

• · Joint or individual contract – Most students sign joint tenancies. This means that they are all equally liable to ensure the whole rent is paid. If you sign an individual tenancy, then you are only liable for your own portion of the rent. It is up to the landlord/letting agent to offer an individual contract or not.

I hope these tips were useful and good luck with your house hunting!