Accommodation
It is very hard to manage accommodation for a new comer as an international student in UK. For an international student it is difficult to select location, price and suitable house as well. Moreover, If you would like to share accommodation with someone known or unknown, you must consider whether it is suitable for you or not. As a new student in the United Kingdom, if you require a temporary accommodation for a short period please contact us via mail at least two weeks in advance and we will do confirm you soon. To rent the property please follow the advice giving by citizen advice bureau:
Arrange accommodation from letting agent:
A letting agency can help you find accommodation owned by a private landlord. Some will help you simply to find accommodation, but many letting agencies manage properties on behalf of a landlord, which means that you may have no direct contact with your landlord. This fact sheet provides you with information on what charges a letting agency can make and a checklist of points you should ask before registering with an agency and signing a tenancy agreement.
Possible Charges from letting agency:
- An unlimited fee once you have signed a contract to accept a tenancy. You must have agreed to take the tenancy before the agency can charge you.
- Administration fees many agencies will charge you an administration fee. This fee may cover things like the cost of preparing the tenancy agreement, checking references, making up the inventory and any other costs of setting up the tenancy. Many agencies will charge you for renewing your tenancy agreement once it expires.
- It is best to shop around because not all agencies make these charges and the amounts can vary between agencies. If you are receiving housing benefit, it will not pay for these fees.
- The agency should provide you with clear information about their charges before you agree to take up a tenancy. Charges should also be reasonable.
- If you have paid unreasonably high charges or you were not given full details of the charges by the agency in advance, you may be able to challenge the charges on the grounds they are unfair. You should contact a specialist housing adviser or your local council´s trading standards officer for further advice.
- A non-returnable holding deposit: This is charged when you agree to rent a property, but have not yet signed the tenancy agreement. This deposit is usually deducted from the security deposit when you move in. You should make sure that you want to take up the tenancy because if you change your mind, your holding deposit will not be returned.
- There may be circumstances when you are not able to move into the property for reasons beyond your control, for example, your reference was not satisfactory or the agency has increased the rent. In these circumstances, it may be unfair for the agency not to return your holding deposit. You should seek advice if this happens to you.
If you have paid an administration fee and/or a holding deposit and the landlord chooses not to go ahead with the tenancy, the Office of Fair Trading Guidance states that you should receive a refund of all pre-payments. If the agency will not return your payments, you should seek advice
Security deposit:
- This is charged as security against damage to the property or getting into rent arrears. It should be returned to you at the end of your tenancy if you have not breached your tenancy agreement.
- An agent who charges you a security deposit for an assured short hold tenancy on or after 6 April 2007 must protect it in one of the three Government approved schemes and provide you with details of the scheme.
- The schemes are the Deposit Protection Scheme, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and ´my deposits´.
- You should agree with the agent what condition the property is in when you start renting it, including a list of the furniture and fittings (known as the inventory). This should help stop any disagreements at the end of the tenancy.
For more information about security deposits, see Tenancy Deposits in Housing fact sheets.
