Rent Smart

Most students have only just moved into their accommodation for this year but already letting agents are putting pressure on you to sign up for a house for next year.

You may feel that you need to think about finding a house for next year. Perhaps your friends are looking and you don’t want to be left behind. While we are not telling you what you should or shouldn’t do, we would recommend that you wait until the beginning of semester two before you start looking.

Why?

Once you have signed an agreement to rent, you have made a big financial commitment that you will not be able to get out of without losing money. The more time you have to think about it the better
If you are a first year student you may not know the area well and so may not make the right choice about where to live
You may not have had time to really get to know people you have agreed to share with
You are more likely to see problems such as mould and damp if you look at houses after the winter

However, if you're ready to rent, we're here to help you.

Our Advice Service are here to help you. They can check your contract for free to make sure you don't receive any nasty surprises. They've also produced a series of handy booklets that outline the process of house hunting, moving into a property and moving out again.

Download a simple house hunting checklist here.

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