General information
Alterations/ decorations
In general, we do not allow alterations/decorations by our tenants (alterations in particular, as there can be risks involved such as asbestos).
If you feel strongly that you would like to do some decorating, please check with us in advance. If you want to do some decorating to redress some damage, please let us know, and we will do our best to give advice and help out if we can. In all circumstances, please don't go ahead with anything without checking with us first.
Clutter
Please also do not accumulate shopping trolleys or other ‘souvenirs’ like road signs. It’s illegal, makes the University look bad in the community, blocks escape routes and are really annoying for us to deal with at the end of tenancies- we may charge you back costs for doing so.
Also consider that tenancies only last for one year, and you will need to deal with accumulated items at the end of the tenancy.
Council tax
We register our properties with the Council for an exemption at the beginning of the year. This means you should not need to register for an exemption, so please let us know immediately if you do get any Council Tax bills.
If you cease studying or become a part-time student, we will need to ask you to leave the property. If for some reason you are unable to do this straightaway, you may become liable for Council Tax in the meantime.
Energy performance rating
If you would like to view the Energy Performance Certificate for your property, you can look it up on the EPC Register.
Inspections
We will make inspections at least once per semester. Inspections will be more frequent if we feel that there is a need- for example, where we find safety breaches or cleanliness problems, we may need to increase the inspection frequency.
Note that we are expected to take firm action on safety breaches, such as propping open fire doors or using candles, so please be careful to ensure you are not breaching any rules.
During an inspection, we will need access to all parts of the property. We have our own keys, so you do not need to be present if you do not wish to be. The main things we will be inspecting are:
Fire safety equipment. We will check the safety measures for fire doors, detectors and fire blankets.
Fire safety behaviour. We will check that tenants aren't propping open fire doors, using candles, smoking, blocking escape routes, overloading sockets, or causing other risks.
Water safety. We will take water temperatures to check there is no increased legionella risk.
Cleanliness. We will check that the property is being kept in a healthy way, and not being damaged or attracting pests.
Property condition. We will check maintenance issues and the general condition of the property. Please let us know of anything you would like us to check before or during the visit.
Other safety/security. We will make sure there are no other concerns at the property that could put any people or property at risk.
Insurance
Unlike our halls accommodation, our housing does not include contents insurance.
Many home contents insurance policies will cover students studying away from home, so if you have a permanent home elsewhere (e.g. your parent's house) it may be worth checking whether you are already covered by the policy there. If not, we would recommend taking out your own contents insurance.
Lockouts/ lost keys
During office hours, you will be able to visit the Accommodation Bureau with your student ID to borrow a spare set of keys.
Outside of office hours, the University will not be able to give you access; you will need to make alternative arrangements or contact a locksmith and provide us with copies of any new keys. There are various locksmiths you can use, but we usually use Executive Locksmiths, who have an out of hours service.
Maintenance visits
Reactive maintenance
Reactive maintenance is responding to an unexpected fault. Where you have reported a maintenance issue and are already expecting us to attend to resolve it, we may not give additional notice in writing. Otherwise we will give at least 24 hours notice before a visit, or more if possible. If a visit has occurred and you do not consider the matter to be resolved, please make sure you tell us as soon as possible to avoid delays.
Planned maintenance
Planned maintenance is something that we can foresee, such as a boiler service. We will try to give as much notice as we can before visits, when we obtain a date from staff or contractors.
Being present for maintenance visits
You do not generally need to be present for visits as we have spare keys to all of our properties. However, if you are not comfortable with someone accessing your property in your absence, please let us know and we will try to make arrangements to suit you.
Notice of visits
We will give at least 24 hours notice before a visit. This will usually be by email or text, so please be alert to these.
Note that in the event of an emergency we may need to access your property with less notice, or possibly no notice, to resolve it. This will be if there is a situation that substantially puts the safety of people or property at risk.