Living with people can be hard, even if they’re your own family, which is why so many students find adjusting to life in a shared house difficult. However, if you approach finding property to rent in the right way you can help make everyone’s life easier university of greenwich accommodation. Follow these four top tips for finding student accommodation to ensure your home is harmonious.
- You can’t choose your family but fortunately you can choose your friends so think very carefully before you agree to a house share with anyone. Make sure that everyone you’re planning to live with understands the responsibilities they have and is willing to share them. You may love your friend’s quirky nature and ability to party hard, but does that make them a good person to live with?
- Once you’ve established who you want to move in with you’ll have a much better idea of the type of home you need. Look for places with the right number of bedrooms and big enough kitchen and bathroom facilities to accommodate everyone. You’ll need at least one communal area too or you could end up living in your room.
- Before you sign a tenancy agreement take time to read and fully understand it. Some landlords will require a ‘joint and several liability’ contract which means if one renter doesn’t pay their rent you could be liable to pay it for them so only choose this option if you’re positive that other renters will pay. Make sure any other tenants understand this clause too before you sign an agreement.
- Establish what you’ll be paying for before an agreement is signed or you could find yourself with unexpected bills. Some landlords will include utilities like water and electricity within rent and some won’t so if you’re going to be paying these as well then make sure you budget for them.
- By law if you have an assured shorthold tenancy then the initial deposit you make should be protected. Ask your landlord about this before you sign a rental property agreement and if your deposit isn’t mentioned in your agreement then get a receipt for it when you pay.
- When you move into your new home take an inventory of any problems you see initially such as broken windows, damage to walls, carpet stains or malfunctioning kitchen equipment. Keep a copy and give a copy to your landlord so you don’t end up getting charged for damage you didn’t cause. It’s also best to inform your landlord straight away if something gets damaged or broken so it can be fixed quickly without causing further damage.