FAQS
RENTING FROM US
We understand the importance for you to physically view properties to get a good feel for them and experience the lovely properties first hand. So, whenever possible, we always look to carry out physical viewings. However, we are also able to accommodate remote viewings when necessary.
In order to book a viewing, simply complete the contact form and we’ll be in touch with you to arrange a viewing.
Should you wish to reserve one of our properties following a viewing, you will be required to pay a holding deposit (usually one week’s rent) and complete a (paperless) application form. More information about deposits can be found in the deposits section below.
Our properties tend to be very popular and our 2022/23 lets have already been reserved. Once we start conducting viewings, our properties usually rent out to the fastest groups to apply and pay their deposits.
Our advice to you is to try and form a full group ahead of any viewings so that you are in a strong position should you wish to secure one of our properties following a viewing.
RENT & INSTALMENT DATES
The rent varies between our houses, but usually ranges from £130pppw – £139pppw inclusive of bills. Please check on the individual property or contact us to find our more.
To keep things convenient for our students, we look to align the rent instalment dates with student finance. So our usual rent collection dates are:
- 1st July / Start of contract if later
- 1st October
- 1st February
- 1st May
We look to tweak these where necessary if student finance timings are slightly out, but you will need to let us know in advance.
DEPOSITS
A holding deposit is a payment made to the landlord / agent to reserver the property. Once the holding deposit is paid, should the tenant (group) withdraw from the property, a refund would not be applicable. However, once the holding deposit is paid, providing that all requested information is sent to the landlord / agent within the requested time period, the property will be reserved exclusively for you.
This is usually one week’s rent
The holding deposit is payable when you wish to reserve the property.
A damage deposit (also known as a security deposit) is a sum of money that the landlord (or their initial agent) can request at the beginning of a tenancy to act as security against damage to the property.
£300 per person
Yes, your holding deposit will transfer over towards the damage deposit (security deposit) with the difference to be paid. E.G. If your holding deposit is £130 and the damage deposit is £300, your £130 holding deposit will be transferred over into the damage deposit, leaving you with a difference of £170 to be paid.
The damage deposit (security deposit) will be payable at the same time as the first instalment of rent. This is typically a couple of weeks before the tenancy commences.
Yes – the deposit will be fully refundable as long as there is no damage to the property and cleaning is carried out to the same standard as at the beginning of the tenancy. The deposit will be protected in a registered scheme and a copy of the certificate will be provided to you.
GUARANTORS
Yes, this is a standard policy for student lets. UK guarantors will be required for each and every tenancy on the tenancy agreement.
CONTRACTS
The contract / tenancy agreement is usually for 52 weeks, but this may vary from property to property.
Yes, your rent is due from the beginning of the tenancy agreement. We always discount the summer rent. This is usually in the way of 4 weeks 1/2 rent.
Absolutely. Unlike many student providers, we allow and encourage our students to move in form the start date of the tenancy agreements. Even if we offer you the house at a reduced rent over the summer, the house is yours to enjoy.
Throughout the tenancy, you will be viewed as one group / household and not as individual tenants. “Joint and several liability” means that your whole group will share the same responsibilities. For example, if one tenant were to cause damage to the property or fail to pay their share of the rent, the whole group would be liable.
We understand that sometimes circumstances change after contracts are signed and you may no longer wish to live in the house. In this event, it will be up to you and your group to find a replacement tenant to substitute your position on the contract. We are able to assist with this where necessary and will work with you to update the contracts once a suitable replacement housemate is found. An admin fee of £48 plus VAT will be charged to the outgoing tenant. Should a replacement not be found, then you or your group will still need to continue to pay the outgoing tenant’s share of the rent as per the joint tenancy agreement.
FEES
No, there are no application fees or hidden fees whatsoever. The only payment required to secure the property is the holding deposit.
BILLS
Yes to make life easy and convenient for everyone, we include bills as standard in all of our contracts. It helps our students to budget with certainty. It also saves our students the hassle of having to setup and open various new accounts with suppliers with direct debits and remembering to close them all on time when moving out.
We include all utilities – gas, electricity and water. As well as this, we pay for the TV licence in the communal area for the large Smart TV that we provide.
We also include a top of the range superfast 500Mbps broadband and TV package. This is around 6 x times than the UK average. It also goes without saying that we have excellent landlord insurance on each of our properties.
Yes, in order to stop unnecessary waste such as leaving the lights on all day when no one’s in, we agree a fair usage allowance of £12pppw (increasing to £15pppw for 2023/24) for gas and electricity. We set this out in our tenancy agreements. All of our houses have been refurbished throughout, so they all have modern efficient boilers, LED lighting and strong insulations to the roofs.
If you go over your tenancy allowance, you will be liable for the difference. For example, if your total tenancy allowance for gas and electricity is £4,000 between you for the year, but you actually end up using £4,200 – you will be liable for the difference of £200 between you.
Meters are read at the start and end of the tenancy and regularly read in between. Most of our houses have smart meters fitted for automated readings.
Full time students are completely exempt from council tax. However, the onus is on you to claim your exemption. You will be charged for council tax if you do not successfully claim your exemption. You will need to email the council (council.tax@leicester.gov.uk) the following information.
- Your Name
- Address of property
- Start date of your tenancy
- Confirmation that you are a full time student
- Name of university
- Your student ID number
- Your Course start date
Yes – we pay for the TV licence in the communal area for the large Smart TV that we provide to cover. We also provide superfast broadband as well as a TV package.
INSURANCE
We have excellent landlord insurance, however this is for all the stuff that we provide. We do ask our students to take out contents insurance for the things you bring and keep in the house. It’s worth shopping around, but quite often, your parents / guarantor can add this to their own home insurance at a nominal cost.
LOCKS ON DOORS
We really encourage a community feel within our houses so that they feel like family homes, so as standard we do not allow locks on the bedroom doors.
Other than your group, the landlord / agent and our trusted contractors, no one else will have access to your house, so your privacy and security is very well protected. One day’s notice will always be provided to you if access is required.
To ensure security, we do not install or keep keys safes at the properties.
PET POLICY
As a rule, pets are not allowed in our standard contracts. However, as animal lovers we would be happy to assess requests.
Our dog Molly is a big hit with our student groups and likes to come with us to say hi :-).
FURNITURE - WHAT’S INCLUDED?
In the bedrooms, we provide a double bed, a double mattress, a mattress protector, a bedside table, a large wardrobe (clothes rails in lofts rooms), a large desk, a chair, made to measure blinds, wall art, a large mirror and depending upon the layout of the rooms we sometimes provide an additional cupboard too.
In the living room, we provide a large Smart TV, sofa, coffee table and a cool breakfast bar.
In the kitchen, we provide a large American fridge freezer, a ceramic cooker, a double oven, a microwave, a kettle, a toaster and double sink as well as a washing machine and dryer.
We also provide a vacuum cleaner in our properties.
Yes, you can bring additional items should you wish. The only thing that you can’t do is to attach things to the walls without first checking with us due to the damage this causes.
PARKING
Yes. As well as our properties being a short walk to the city centre, they also benefit from having completely free on road parking. The only exception to this is our Briton Street property where parking is available for £25 for the year. Contact us for more information about this.
