Student FAQs

When do students find their houses for the next academic year?

This has changed over the years and has moved further and further back with local student agents responding to when student groups start making their enquiries. We find the ‘Early Bird’ groups start making enquiries as early as mid-October (Over 8 months ahead) and it is at this point that our initial student list starts to form. Certainly, by November we have a healthy student list with the best new stock available. The student groups clearly want to secure the best quality houses early and have the issue of accommodation put to bed. We find that through November and by February most of the group business has been done. However, do not be disheartened if you have not secured during these periods as we still have new stock arriving throughout the year and due to our policy of only adding the better-quality houses this new stock can also be very good. We should also add that existing student groups are of course given the first opportunity to extend their existing tenancy

What is the average rent for Swansea Student accommodation?

The average rent for a student room in Swansea is £350 per calendar month, but it can be as low as £250 or as high as £425 per calendar month depending on the quality, size and location of the property. Most student rooms are plus bills, but we do have what we call ‘Utility Managed’ options where utility services are included with an agreed tenancy package. This option is becoming more and more popular.

What must I do if I wish to secure a student property?

You should call into our office to complete an information request form, although this can be done remotely, and to sign what we call a pre tenancy agreement along with a refundable holding deposit in order that we can remove the room or property from our marketing. The entire process will be explained to you when you are ready to commit.

What is a refundable holding deposit?

All applicants will be required to pay a refundable holding deposit and to sign a pre tenancy agreement when securing a property. The holding deposit will either be £50 or 1 weeks rent, depending on the property, and will enable us to withdraw the property from our marketing. Applicants are at risk of losing the holding deposit should the following occur: –

Should the prospective tenant(s) : –

  1. Withdraw from entering into the full tenancy agreement.
  2. Provide false information for referencing (including undisclosed adverse credit history)
  3. Fail to act reasonably to enter into the tenancy before the deadline for agreement, they will be liable for the reasonable costs incurred by the Landlord and his Agent. In most circumstances these reasonable costs will exceed the value of the holding deposit; however, they will be limited to the value of the holding deposit.

The holding deposit will be retained should any of the above points occur and will cover or contribute to the following costs. Should the Landlord or Agent decide that the costs incurred do not require the whole holding deposit to be retained they will arrange for any surplus amount to be returned to the prospective tenant(s), without interest, as soon as possible. A refund to pay any one of the joint and several prospective tenants will be considered adequate as a total refund to all concerned. The cost considerations that may be deducted from the Holding Deposit can include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Costs of any reference or credit checks sought
  2. Costs of any administration undertaken to prepare for the tenancy
  3. Costs of re-advertising the property to let
  4. Costs of any guarantor agreements
  5. Costs, in lieu of rent, of keeping the property empty for the tenant(s).

If I can no longer take the property, can I transfer my holding deposit to a different property?

If you haven’t signed your tenancy agreement yet, and provided it’s been no more than two weeks since you paid your holding deposit we will, in most cases, be willing to transfer to another Fresh property. However, please note that we’re only able to transfer a holding deposit once.

What’s a guarantor, and why do student tenants need one?

In essence, a guarantor is a financial backer for a tenant, who agrees to pay the rent if the tenant should fail to do so. They also indemnify the landlord(s) and/or landlord’s agents against all loss, damage, expenses or costs incurred because of the tenant(s) non-performance of any observations and obligations contained in the tenancy agreement.

Most guarantors are the parents or guardians of the student, and must be UK residents and have an income in excess of £15,000 p.a. The guarantor paperwork needs to be signed and the original documents provided to us before we make the tenancy agreement ‘Live’.

Parents and guarantors are not the legal tenants of the property and should not communicate with the landlord or agent concerning tenancy related matters.

What if I have no UK based guarantor?

If this is the case, we could consider accepting you with a larger bond. However, if you are part of a group tenancy agreement the other student tenants would have to be aware of the risks of having a fellow tenant without a guarantor. The worst-case scenario of this situation impacting on the other tenants are unlikely, but the risks will have to be understood. It will then be for the group to decide if they still wish to proceed with the let.

I’m looking for a single student room – Can you help me?

Yes, we let a large number of individual student rooms each year. We generally start to produce our individual student lists from May through to October time of the commencing academic year.

Do we organise individual room lets to just girls and boys?

We do have a demand from parents for mainly their daughters to go into a girl only house. As a result, we normally set aside houses to meet this demand. Please just make this specific enquiry with the Fresh office.

What is the summer retainer period? What happens during this period?

This covers the July and August period prior to the physical move in date on the 1st of September. Most landlords will require the tenancy agreement to start on the 1st July with a half rent amount payable for July and August. The only way to avoid this is to secure your property late in the year, but this is risky, as the best quality stock goes early and there are fewer houses to choose from later in the year.

You will be required to pay for the summer rent period (July/August) well in advance and on demand as a further financial commitment to the tenancy. This will enable you to store belongings in the property over the summer period, but it does not allow you to stay in the property.

The landlord uses the July and August period to prepare the property for your occupation in September and you should not judge the condition during this period. The landlord or Agent will carry out cleaning and rubbish removal as a minimum and some landlords may choose to do works including painting, furniture replacement or kitchen and bathroom updates. If major works are to be carried out the landlord may insist on all student belongings being placed in one room. As a minimum, all belongings should be put on the bed of each room and be clearly labelled to enable the landlord to work around your possessions.

What is the difference between a ‘Managed’ tenancy and a ‘Finders Fee’ tenancy?

Just because you are viewing a property through the Fresh team do not assume that we will always be managing the property throughout the tenancy. We are instructed on either a ‘Fully Managed’ basis or a ‘Finders Fee’ basis, so please raise the question and we will confirm.

If we are instructed to ‘Fully Manage’ the property then we will be your sole point of contact for every matter from start to finish. If the landlord is to manage the property, we will secure the property with you initially, sign tenancy agreements and guarantor paperwork and then hand you over to the landlord to complete all other requirements. We will provide full details of the landlord on completion of the paperwork.

Will I have to pay a tenancy deposit and how much will this be?

Yes. The deposit will be a minimum amount of 1 months rent and sometimes more depending on what the landlord has dictated to us on instruction. We will confirm this detail with you.

Who keeps the tenancy deposit? What does ‘Deposit Protection’ mean?

All tenancy deposits must be registered with one of the three approved deposit schemes. These include the DPS (Deposit Protection Scheme), TDS or MyDeposits. If the property is managed by Fresh we will register it with the DPS.

Deposit protection was set up in 2007 to protect tenants’ rights, and means that no money can be deducted from your bond without your input. A landlord or letting agent can make a claim for the money and in most cases, will come to a reasonable agreement on any deductions. In the event of a dispute, the matter can be referred to a dispute service to make an independent decision.

When will my deposit be returned?

You will receive your tenancy deposit back at the end of your tenancy, but only when we have received all the keys back and when we have proof that all utility bills including water, gas and electricity have been fully paid. The deposit will of course be subject to deductions for cleaning, damage and any rental arrears. We always aim to return any deposits as quickly as possible in order for us to close the account down.

What does ‘HMO’ mean?

It means a house in multiple occupation and is a property rented out by at least 3 people who do not form one ‘household’, e.g. a family, but share facilities like the bathroom and kitchen.

‘HMO licensing’ is the process by which the local council regulates the standards of houses that are rented out to multiple occupants. It ensures that landlords with student properties in the main student areas have the correct safety measures in place.

What property maintenance are tenants responsible for?

Tenants are responsible for the minor maintenance at the house they are renting. Tenants’ responsibilities are set down in law as the ‘tenant-like manner’. We would ask all tenants to treat the property as their own. See below responsibilities: –

  • Regulating condensation levels within the house, to prevent mould build-up.
  • Topping up boiler pressure.
  • Changing light bulbs.
  • Unblocking toilets and drains.
  • Keeping the property clean and tidy, including recycling properly and throwing away all rubbish.
  • Heating the property during the winter, to make sure the pipes don’t freeze and to prevent mould build up.

Tenants are also responsible for reporting other maintenance issues in a timely manner, so that the landlord can deal with any issues before they get worse. If it is found that there has been an unnecessary delay in reporting a matter to the landlord or Agent the tenant could be liable for costs.

What do I do if I have a maintenance issue?

If you live in a let-only or ‘Finders Fee’ property, you’ll need to make contact with your landlord, but if you’re in a property managed by Fresh then you will need to report ALL non-emergency maintenance issue through our maintenance software at https://freshsales.fixflo.com.

 

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