House Hunting

House hunting is daunting for everyone, especially when it's your first time renting. On this page, you'll find guides to house hunting and links to help you find properties.

Don't Rush to Rent!

A tenancy is likely to be one of the most expensive purchases you ever make, so think very carefully about whether it is right for you.

What to Consider

NUS Ready to Rent has been developed to support student renters to develop the knowledge and confidence they need to find good quality housing and assert their rights as renters. You can check out their guides, including this leaflet that takes you through the things you need to consider before you sign your name.

 

Consider the total cost of rent, bills, and travel – some properties may be more expensive at first but come with bills included up to a certain amount; others might initially seem cheap but the cost of getting from there to campus could exceed your budget. Our Bills page has a guide to living costs.

 

Take care to check the tenancy agreement before you sign anything - visit our Tenancy Agreement page for advice on what should/shouldn't be in your contract. You can also read about the different types of tenancies to help you understand your rights and responsibilities. ASK can check your tenancy agreement before you sign it, to make sure there are no issues with the terms and explain anything you don’t understand.

 

Make sure you inspect the property and take care to look out for these:

 

  • Signs of damp, disrepair or pests
  • Security on doors and windows
  • Burglar alarms, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors
  • The condition of the carpets and furniture
  • The state of the bathroom(s)
Don't forget to take this House Hunting Checklist with you!

 

When Should I Start Looking?

Many students start looking before Christmas, but we encourage you to take time to make sure the property is right for you. We hold a Housing Fair every year in late January/early February, and there are landlords still looking to rent out their properties at that time.

 

Students who sign up to off campus housing too soon can experience problems that include:

 

Finding a more suitable place or leaving university before your tenancy starts

 

Tenancy agreements are legally binding agreements, meaning you usually have to pay the rent for the whole length of the contract even if you change your mind before you've moved in. We’ve seen many students who didn’t realise this and have signed up for one property then later signed up for another that they preferred, finding themselves legally bound to pay rent twice.

 

Changing friendships

 

The students who you were closest to in the first few months of your time at Keele may not be your friends by the end of the year and you could regret agreeing to live with them. Also, no one has taken and passed any exams yet, so how do you really know who will be here to move in with you next year?

 

Bear in mind that if you sign up for a joint tenancy you’ll all be responsible for each other’s rent so make sure you fully understand your responsibilities and are comfortable entering into this form of contract with each other. The total household rent could be around £15-20,000 for the year - you would normally take a lot of time to think about it before spending this much money on anything else!

 

Rushing into signing a contract without properly checking the condition of the property or the contract terms

 

It is important that you follow some simple steps to avoid repeating the same mistakes that other students have made; this can take some time but is well worth it. If possible, view the property in person or at least look carefully at any photos or videos and ask questions. If possible, talk to the previous tenants. Visit our Tenancy Agreement page for advice on what should/shouldn't be in your contract. We can also check your tenancy agreement before you sign it, to make sure there are no issues with the terms and explain anything you don’t understand.

 

Being unable to afford the full cost of living there

 

Take the time to make sure you can really afford the cost of living in that property. If it's more than you can afford you may fall into debt and rent arrears, which can affect your studies and mental health and may even have a long-term impact on your future. Our Bills page has a guide to living costs.

Where to Look

 

Keele Student Pad

 

Keele StudentPad is the University’s online listing service where landlords advertise their student properties. There is also a message board where students can advertise for someone to take over their tenancy.

 

Other Property Websites

 

The most-used property websites are Rightmove and Zoopla.

 

Keele SU Housing Fair

 

Every year we host a Housing Fair in the Keele SU Ballroom, where we invite landlords to show off their properties. This year's fair was held on 30th January 2024.

Housemates

Looking for a housemate for next year? You can visit our Facebook group, Housemate Seekers of Keele, to connect with other students!

 

Living with your friends can be a great experience as long as everyone treats each other with respect and has similar ideas of how they want to live. The best way to keep things peaceful is to be realistic about who you choose to live with in the first place, and then have some honest talks about how you want to live. Consider how you feel about visitors, partners staying over, late night parties, housemates having time to themselves, standards of cleanliness, contributing to bills, dealing with arguments, as well as anything else that you feel is important.

 

Bear in mind that if you sign up for a joint tenancy you’ll all be responsible for each other’s rent so make sure you fully understand your responsibilities and are comfortable entering into this form of contract with each other.

 

Rightmove has a great list of tips:

 

  • Consider having regular 'house meetings' where you can air your views before they get out of hand

  • Try and socialise together so you remain friends as well as housemates.

  • Eat together when you can which will save money as well be a social event.

  • Have a kitty for communal house items such as cleaning products and loo roll.

  • Have clear guidelines about who does what housework and how regularly.

  • Have a clear strategy for paying bills from the start - whose responsibility is it? How much each? How are payments made?

Holding Deposits

Some landlords will ask you for a holding deposit to reserve the property before signing the tenancy agreement. The landlord can ask you to pay a holding deposit of up to the equivalent of one week's rent.

 

The landlord must give you a copy of the tenancy agreement for you to read through first. It's important you know what terms you would be entering into before you give the landlord any money.

 

The landlord is entitled to keep the holding deposit if you pay it but then change your mind about renting the property, unless you had a good reason. You should get your money back if the landlord changes their mind, unless you gave false information about yourself.

 

If you enter into the tenancy the holding deposit will be refunded, usually by reducing the first rent payment, or the landlord could turn it into the security deposit and properly protect it in a scheme.

 

For more information about these deposits, you can visit the Holding Deposits section of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 guidance (starting on page 43).