Furnishings & Equipment

LANDLORD OBLIGATION

Below are minimum requirements.

We encourage you to think about what works for your property and add anything else you think would make you or maybe one of your children happy to live there.

Would I be happy to live here?

This is the question that many landlords put to themselves as a test of quality. The days when the only criteria for student accommodations was price are long gone. Properties need to be a high standard with well maintained furnishings and equipment that are appropriate to make the property homely.

Remember that anything that you supply at the tenancy outset you will have a responsibility to repair/ replace if necessary. This may not be a problem for a kettle or toaster, but maybe putting your spare TV in the house could cause you a problem.

Bedrooms

  • A bed base and mattress appropriate to the available space in the room

  • A mattress protector. These often go missing, so we don't recommend an expensive one unless you are prepared to lose it

  • Clothes storage appropriate to the room size, with a minimum overall storage equivalent to a single wardrobe and 3-drawer chest

  • Study desk and chair. These should be appropriate for sitting and studying for long periods, so just supplying a table will not be appropriate

  • Appropriate lighting with shades

  • Good quality curtains that do not let excessive light in at night. Net curtains/ frosting if the room is overlooked

  • Door lock. Use locks that are not self-latching to minimise lock-outs. Must be unlockable without a key from the inside for fire safety

Kitchens

  • Fridge and freezer facilities of appropriate size. Each tenant should have access to the equivalent of at least one shelf/ drawer in each

  • Fire blanket in good condition and mounted on the wall

  • Hard, non-slip flooring

  • Cleaning equipment appropriate to the facilities, including a mop/bucket and dustpan/brush

  • Kitchen bin with separate recycling containers if there is room

  • Washing machine. If your property does not have outside clothes drying facilities, we would recommend supplying a tumble dryer if practical. This cuts down on potential for damp caused by condensation from drying clothes

  • Microwave

  • Heat detector. These are different to smoke detectors, which are likely to be set off accidentally in a kitchen

Bathrooms

  • Extractor fan appropriate to ventilate bath/shower rooms and prevent mould growth

  • Correct IP rated light fitting. The rating required will depend on the location of the fitting

  • Lockable door

  • Window blind to protect privacy

  • Hard, non-slip flooring

Living area

  • Comfortable seating, enough for all residents of the property to be able to use simultaneously

  • Appropriate lighting with shades

  • ‘Hard’ furnishings appropriate to room size and functionality, such as a coffee table and TV stand

  • Aerial point for TV

Gardens

Tenants are expected to maintain lawns where you have provided them with a lawnmower. If you have not, we would expect you to arrange upkeep of any gardens yourself, or by arrangement with us. We only expect a basic level of gardening from our tenants, so please ensure that gardens are very simple or are otherwise kept well maintained by visits to the property.

General

  • Vacuum cleaner

  • Phone point positioned in a communal area so that tenants can add a broadband router in a safe way, i.e. a phone point near the front door may mean a router needs to be placed in the main fire escape route, causing a trip hazard

  • Carbon monoxide detector mounted near to any gas boiler (unmounted ones can be prone to wander)

  • Hard-wired, interlinked fire detection equipment. Smoke detectors in communal areas, heat detector in kitchen

  • Working bulbs in all fittings, with shades

  • Ironing board

  • Notice board in hallway for display of management information

  • Bicycle storage. This may be a rack or a shed

  • Operating instructions for all appliances provided

Safe items

Furniture- must have a non-removable safety label attached. See our section on furniture for more information on this. All furniture should be checked for safety during inspections.

Electrical items- must have the CE safety mark and have been portable appliance tested or bought within the last year. You should also check them during any inspections to make sure there are no visual defects

Electrical gang plugs- overloading of electrical gang plugs is a common cause of fire. We do not require you to provide them, but please consider letting the property with one or two high quality gang plugs with thermal cutout protection to minimise the chances of tenants overloading a less suitable appliance. Make sure you mark it clearly as belonging to the house.

Appliance instructions- a landlord is expected to supply operating instructions for any items they provide. We recommend making a simple folder to keep these in at the property. Missing ones can usually be downloaded from manufacturer's websites. We also provide tenants with a more general booklet on operating appliances safely in case of any gaps.