5 things to remember when moving into your student house

Whether you’re moving away from home for the first time or making the transition from university accommodation to a student house, the upheaval can be overwhelming. There’s a lot more to think about when you’re renting from an agency or private landlord, so we’ve put together this article that covers some of the things that are most likely to slip your mind amid the chaos.

This piece covers everything from setting up the necessary payments to ensuring your belongings will be safe. So, here’s what you need to remember when moving into a student house.

Read your contract thoroughly

It might seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people don’t read their tenancy agreements thoroughly and end up in a sticky situation as a result. It’s therefore incredibly important that you go through any contract you sign with a fine-toothed comb and, ideally, ask you parents to do the same.

Most importantly, you should check what type of contract you’ll be signing. Most student lets come with a shorthold tenancy agreement for a fixed term of 12 months.

Save the Student has a fantastic guide to reading your tenancy agreement properly that will help you with this part of the process.

Take an inventory

Typically, a landlord or letting agency will provide you with an inventory of what they believe is in the house you’re renting. If you’re given this, you should check this against the home itself and raise any concerns you have, as well as take photos of any existing damage that isn’t detailed in the document.

Set up your rent payments

It’s important that your rent is paid on time every time, or you might incur additional charges. The easiest way to pay these monthly charges is by standing order or direct debit, and it’s likely that your letting agent or landlord will ask for one in particular.

Insure your devices

No doubt you’ll be taking a range of devices to university with you, and it’s wise to insure them. Deadlines are always going to be looming when you’re studying, and your computer breaking could severely affect your work.

To make things easy for yourself, choose an insurance provider that will cover all your devices at once. LetUsFixIT, for example, will protect your computers and tablets against accidental damage, theft, and mechanical failure. So, you can rest easy in the knowledge that any problems you have will be fixed with minimal fuss.

Take meter readings

When you move into your new home, one of the very first things you should do is check your electricity, gas and water meters. You can then give these to the relevant utility providers to ensure you don’t end up paying any more than you should.

Most landlords will allow you to change providers if you want to. So, if you find that you can get better deals from different companies after you’ve moved in, it’s worth asking if you can do so.

When you’re ready to move out, you should also take final meter readings so, again, you’ll only pay for the gas, electricity and water that you use.

We wish you the best of luck in your new home. Moving into a student house is incredibly exciting and, if you follow all of the tips above, you shouldn’t run into any unnecessary problems along the way.