Accommodation
Useful Things to Consider When Renting a House
The Code of Best Practice
The code of best practice in regards to student housing has been introduced to provide students with a way of identifying properties that meet legal, mandatory requirements of the code and recommended standards. The scheme is for all student houses. The code has been developed in partnership with the University of York, York St John University, the College of Law, Askham Bryan College, the City of York Council and a number of other organisations in York. University accommodation is covered by the Universities’ UK Code of Practice.
The University provides students with a list of landlords who are committed to following the code of best practice . This list is password protected so you will need your university ID and password to access it. More details about the private housing sector in York can be found on the Accommodation Services webpage.
Signing a Tenancy Agreement
It is important that you read and understand the agreement before you sign it. This may sound like common sense, but it is surprising how many people after rereading their tenancy agreement at a later date find parts that they had not noticed when initially signing it. If there is anything you are not clear about make sure you ask someone, this can be the landlord, a friend who has already signed an agreement before or and advisor at the university. The tenancy agreement is legally binding, so it is important that you do agree with everything stated in it. To make this easier and so you do not feel pressured from the landlord, tell them that you will return the signed agreement to them in the post. This will give you a chance to take enough time to read it in detail.
There are a number of advisors within the university who can check your agreement and make sure that there is nothing included in it that should be of concern. If you would like your tenancy agreement checked then email Mel at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Mo at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to make an appointment.
Joint Liabilty
The term joint liability is relevant in situations where a contract is agreed by more than one person. What it means is that all those involved in the contract are equally responsible for the payment of the overall amount agreed in the contract. If you are renting a property where all the tenets sign the same contract you could be jointly liable to pay the rent others as well as your own. You may find yourself in this situation if one of the tenants for whatever reasons decides to move out of the property and stops paying their share of the rent. While the tenant who has left the property is still responsible for paying the rent, so are all those who signed the contract with them. Therefore, the landlord could legally take court action against all those who agreed to the contract.
Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme
If your landlord asks you to pay a deposit, they are legally obliged to pay the deposit into a Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme. These schemes were introduced to protect the tenants right to have their deposit returned and stop landlords unfairly retaining the deposit. Your landlord has to tell you which scheme they will be using to put your deposit in.
If at the end of your contract, your landlord deducts any charges from your deposit they have to support this with sufficient evidence. This means your landlord needs to provide details of what the costs cover and show you any receipts or invoices that they may have for any repairs, replacements or cleaning.
Council Tax
Registered full-time students do not have to pay council tax. In order to be exempt from paying council tax you must inform your local authority (council) that you are studying full-time. If you do not do this, it is likely that your local authority will still expect you to pay council tax. If you are living in York, you can apply for exemption online.
Research students who are writing up there thesis may need to pay council tax. To be exempt from paying council tax in your writing up year you have to study for at least 21 hours a week, for 24 weeks of your writing up year.
While full-time registered international students, like all full-time students will not have to pay council tax, international students may also be exempt from paying council tax in other situtations if their visa prevents them from undertaking paid employment or claiming benefits.
Student Support Services can provide you with further information on council tax.
