Whether you are an international student or local, you want to move to another place for your studies or work, the major challenge you will face is renting a property. In this blog, we’re going to be looking at 5 important things you should consider before renting a property from your landlord or letting agent. In order to rent a property in the UK, international students must have the right to rent code. You can check your Right to Rent code here. Do not share this code with anyone except for your landlord. You can rent any property in the UK if you have this code. Now let’s come to the main topic.
1) Location and Rent - The first and most important factor renting a property is its location and rent. If you’re a student it’s important to find your property near to your University. This allows you to save on your transportation cost which is quite expensive in the UK. Most of these properties can charge higher rent compared to others which are far from the University and city centre. Make sure you compare rents based on your location and do not be afraid to negotiate. Once you’re confident that you can afford to pay the rent you can express your interest in renting that property. Once you finalise your property, we move to the next step.
2) Know your Landlord - Before renting a property, it is important to know whether your Landlord is genuine or not. Make sure your landlord belongs to an Accreditation scheme. We at Stoke Student Properties are accredited with The National Residential Landlord Association (NRLA) which provides training and support to private landlords in fulfilling legal and ethical responsibilities. They will also be members of local accreditation schemes, Stoke Student Properties are members the North Staffordshire Landlord Accreditation Scheme. Also make sure to get their all details such as, Name, Address in the UK, their website and social media pages. This will allow you to know more about his business and reviews by previous tenants.
3) Do legal paperwork - Landlords registered with the Accreditation scheme will do legal agreement with you and they don’t charge any fee for that. However, landlords can ask for a holding fee which should not be more than your 1 week rent. This is fully refundable and can be deducted on your first month of rent. Do not fall for - “No boring paperwork” Ads that might get you in trouble.
4) Read your agreement carefully - Your landlord will send you a copy of the tenancy agreement to sign. Before you sign and submit, make sure all details are correct, check all terms and conditions and if you negotiate with some terms and conditions make sure it’s reflected on the agreement, if it’s not, feel free to ask them to make required changes.
5) Book your property Online - Most of you may not be aware of this but you can book your property from your home. Students who migrate from another country don’t have to book separate accommodation to do the paperwork. Your landlord can arrange online viewing for you as well as all your paperwork can be signed digitally. Ask your landlord if they provide this facility. This saves a lot of money for students before coming here and you are assured a place which is the best thing!
If you’re looking for a property to rent, check out our Properties in Stoke-on-Trent here. Feel free to get in touch on info@stokestudentproperties.co.uk Or visit - https://www.stokestudentproperties.co.uk
Written by one of our international students O Chavan