Renting as a student can be daunting, as it is often the first time you are living away from home. With renting a property comes a lot of responsibility, so it’s important you know your rights as a student renter. Here, we dispel five common myths about renting as a student.
1. Every landlord requires a guarantor
It is at the landlord’s discretion whether or not their tenants require a guarantor. But students need to be aware that any guarantor doesn’t just guarantee the rent of an individual, but of everyone on the contract. A guarantor also needs to live in the UK.
Usually, students will ask their parents to guarantee their rent, so it pays to keep them in the loop about what is happening with your rental search. This will also help to alleviate any worries they may have about you living away from home for the first time.
2. You have fewer legal rights as a student
Every rental property deposit in the UK must be put into a government approved tenancy deposit protection scheme by the landlord, or by the estate agent handling the tenancy.
If you are not renting through a reputable estate agent and choose to rent privately, then you must double check that your deposit is put into a protection scheme to ensure you don’t get burnt at the end of your tenancy by wrongful deductions.
Remember that your landlord should also provide up-to-date gas and electrical safety certificates before you move into your new property.
3. Landlords can take money from a deposit if they want to
Many students – and tenants in general – are not aware that their landlord has no right to withhold any part of the deposit at the end of the tenancy if there are problems with the property.
At the end of your tenancy, both the tenants and the landlord have to come to an agreement about any necessary deductions, which gives you the opportunity to contest any deductions that you don’t agree with.
Only once you have agreed an amount, if any deductions have been made, can the deposit be released to the landlord and the tenants.
4. Students can only rent student-specific properties
Although every landlord has their own preference as to who they rent their property to, many landlords will rent to students. They are obliged by law to accept offers and viewings from anyone interested, but ultimately it is their decision.
Often landlords like students because they can get secure, long-term rent covering the length of their study – sometimes even three or four years if they are studying longer courses like medicine or veterinary science.
But this is usually secured with guarantors, or by asking the tenants to pay a portion of their rent upfront – usually international students are asked to pay upfront, as they cannot secure a guarantor in the UK.
5. I’m only responsible for my share of the rent
If you share a property with your friends and you all sign a joint tenancy, you are all jointly responsible for paying the full rent each month. If one person cannot pay their portion of the rent, then you are all responsible to pay the shortfall.
It is also your responsibility to agree how you will split the rent between yourselves if the rooms are of varying size and you wish to pay different rents.
Take a look at our students accommodation section for more advice on student renting in London, or find a property near a London university.
