Before you move into any student accommodation landlords have a legal obligation to supply the Gas Safety document for the accommodation.
                                 
Landlords are also required by law to secure their tenants deposits by making use of a third party, this is regarded as the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. A landlord must tell their tenants of the holding company they are employing within two weeks of taking the deposit – failure for them to do so can bring repercussion in the form of a fine.

Should a landlord revoke their student accommodation from being let before the Tenancy Contract is signed all they are legally obliged to do is return the holding deposit to the tenant (this remains correct up until the day the tenancy is due to begin). Future tenants should get the final  short hold tenancy contract signed by the Landlord as soon as the points within are agreed.
   
Tenants will be in a much better position to challenge any charges deducted from their deposit if an inventory check is carried out before completely moving in. If a Landlord or Letting Agent fails to forward an inventory the tenant really should consider producing one. In this occasion it is also pivotal for the document to be signed off by either the Landlord or Letting Agent incase of future disputes. Even just a selection of digital photos that are sent by special delivery to the Landlord, or their agent, on the very first day of the Tenancy will do.

The price of rent for each tenant tends to fall as the quantity of people sharing expands, up to a maximum of 4. If a student accommodation is able to house 5 or more tenants, it is graded as a ‘House in Multiple Occupation’. This makes it more high priced for the landlord to run – hence the increased cost per tenant.

It is a everyday misunderstanding that 1 television license is required per property. This is only accurate if student property is let on a shared basis, where there is split liability for the rent. If tenants sharing a address have individual tenancy agreements a license will be required per tenant that has a TV in their room. A prime example of such circumstances would be a house of 5 students in private or university halls of residence.

Full time students are not subject to paying council tax however, this is inaccurate for part time students. Full time students should consider sharing with part time students incase the house as a collective group decides that it is uneven for the part time student to pay out the full council tax bill.

If you are looking for student properties through a letting agent they will charge an agents fee of between twenty to one hundred pounds per person. In the Selly Oak area a £50 agents fee is deemed normal. Tenants should try to negotiate this figure down as each basic referral will only cost the letting agency in the region of £20 per tenant. Letting Agents charge much bigger fees to the Landlord, therefore they are unlikely to want to lose out on these potential charges for the sake of billing prospective tenants a slightly lesser fee. Agents can’t charge you for simply viewing a house.

Most tenancy contracts are valid for 12 months. Students letting in non-student areas should consider asking for a break clause to be included into the agreement. This gives the tenants the freedom to give notice at any time during the 2nd half of the tenancy.

Student areas have always been a hotspot for burglars, as a large proportion students have never lived in a flat by themselves and security can sometimes be overlooked. Students should ask their landlord for windows and doors to be secured by key operated locks, and bolts respectively. It is also advisable to view flats with working intruder alarms as this provides a key obstruction and can be activated at any time of day when the property is empty.