The Global London College Welfare Officer is able to offer assistance to students seeking privately-let flats, rooms and lodgings, through suitable agencies. Those students who wish to obtain private lodgings or flats, and those unable to secure a place through our partner GoBritanya are also advised to contact the College office.

Your Rights

As with anyone who rents a property you will have to pay a refundable deposit which, assuming the room / house is in the same condition at the end of the tenancy as at the beginning, you will get back.

Amount depends on accommodation type – In halls of residence the security deposit tends to be relatively small compared to private houses – you will rarely have to pay much more than £300. Private landlords will usually ask for 6-8 weeks worth of rent as a deposit as they see young people as high-risk tenants (more likely to cause damage to the property) so will often ask for a larger deposit.

Protect your deposit – Your landlord must protect your deposit using a tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme – these guarantee that tenants will get their deposits back at the end of the tenancy providing they have met the terms of the tenancy agreement and have not damaged the property.

Getting it back – If you don’t get your deposit back at all, or if you don’t feel you have received enough of it back, you should write to your landlord raising your concerns. If you fail to resolve the matter you should speak to your student housing office or your local Citizens Advice Bureau for legal advice.

Room in a Private House

Can help you feel more at home – It may not be the most glamorous way to go in terms of student accommodation – but renting a bedroom in someone else’s house can be a great way of saving some money. Because you’re in another person’s house there’s a good chance that it will be well maintained – often your landlord / lady will include meals for an additional fee.

Maintain your privacy – As much as being in someone else’s house has its benefits, it’s important that you keep a space of your own. If you choose this route, make sure that it’s written in your contract that you have exclusive access to your room and that the landlord can’t enter without permission.

Private flat on your own

Only if you like your own company – It’s an option – but not a great one. Not having anyone to talk to combined with the increased expense of living on your own means you’re probably better off looking at more traditions types of student accommodation.

Bills in student accommodation

Rent depends on where you are in the country – The only real downside of moving out on your own and into student accommodation – you have to start paying for stuff. Rent is the biggest expense – what you pay for student accommodation depends largely on where you’re studying. The general rule is that rent in the north tends to be cheaper, while London is the most expensive place to be a student – but of course there are always exceptions.

Remember to get a TV licence – Whether you’re in halls or a house, if you have a TV you must pay for your TV licence. The licence is currently £157.50 per year – in halls you will need one each, but in a shared house you only need one between all of you.

Council tax – As students you are exempt from paying council tax – though try and avoid living with non-students or part-time students as they are not exempt, and asking one person to pay the entire council tax bill is a little excessive.

Check out utility bills cost – student accommodation expenses will include buying contents insurance and paying utility bills such as gas and electricity – for detailed information on utility bills, go to: www.britishgas.co.uk

Where to look for student accommodation

Get impartial help from your college – Your college has a dedicated welfare officer to arrange student accommodation. The college works with Britannia to provide accommodation support to our students and will be able to help you in your search for student accommodation if you get stuck.

Letting agents

It’s all in the timing – A letting agent is essentially a middle man between you and your landlord. A landlord pays a letting agent to find suitable tenants for his / her property. At some point – usually around January / February – letting agents will start advertising their houses for the next academic year. Like most things in life it’s a case of first come first served, so it’s best to be organised – the sooner you know who you will be living with and what you can afford, the better. Most letting agents will have a comprehensive list of their properties online.

Going direct to private landlords

Cut out the middle man – To use a letting agent, a landlord must pay administrative fees – as some are reluctant to do so, not all available houses can be found via an agent. Going direct to a landlord is a great way of saving money, IF you can find them. The best way of locating private lets is to look in the back of local papers and online (see below).

Finding your student accommodation online

Everything in one place – There are also websites that help to collate all of the above resources into one easy-to-use location. Students can sign up to find houses, while landlords and letting agents can also sign up to list their available properties.Some of the more popular ones include: 
MyStudentHalls.com, 

accommodationforstudents.com, 

student-houses.com and 

homesforstudents.co.uk

Find new housemates – Some of these sites – accommodationforstudents.com for example – not only let you search for properties, but also for housemates. Whether you have a room or need a room, you can connect with potential housemates to ask questions and potentially arrange viewings without having to go outside.

What makes for good student accommodation?

Obviously everyone’s needs and expectations are different, but here are some things that anyone looking for student accommodation should consider:

Tenancy Agreement

Ensure that you are provided with a tenancy agreement and you read it properly before entering into any sort of agreement.Your contract may provide furnished or unfurnished (furniture) accommodation. You should also check if there is a washing machine and cooking felicities are available. if there is no washing machine you may need to find the local launderette to wash your clothes.

Security

The more secure a property, the cheaper your contents insurance will be. Check with a few insurance companies what their minimum security requirements are before you start looking for a house.

Noise

Many universities are situated in heavily-populated cities where noise pollution is common. Even if you look around a house during a quiet time of day, try and think about anything that could potentially cause noise such as main roads, pubs or train tracks.

Furniture

A landlord or letting agent will show you around a property in its best possible condition to try and get you to rent it, but that doesn’t mean that is the condition it will be left in before you move in. Ask the landlord what furniture (if any) is included with the house – furnishing a house can be very expensive, so much so that it may mean it’s not worth your while moving into an unfurnished property.

Plumbing

Don’t feel too embarrassed to have a go on the hot taps or to test the flush on the toilet, these are things you can’t live without, so make sure everything’s up-to-scratch before you commit to anything.

Enough room?

If there are a few of you, make sure that there are enough toilets / showers / hobs to satisfy all of your needs. There’s nothing worse than having to queue for a shower when you’ve got 10 minutes until your 9am lecture starts.

Location

Convenient? – How close is it to college? To the town centre? To the shops?

Transport – Are you near a bus stop or train station? Would it be easy to get home at any time of day?

Difference in price – A house that has all of the above nearby (usually an inner city house / flat) will obviously be a lot more expensive than a house that is more out of the way.