Why do 3rd Year students get the best houses?
If you are a 1st year why not Buck the Trend?
To understand where this view comes from we have to look at a number of issues. First, what are the best houses? Second, why do 3rd year students get the best houses? Finally what can you do to change this view? 
What are the best houses?
The best houses tend to be those covered by The Unipol Code,
- have affordable, value for money rents (the average price for a Unipol Code shared student house in 2011 is £66.76pppw)
- have the amenities that you are looking for
- have landlords that communicate well with the tenants
- have good inter-tenant relationships
- are in the location that you want
Why do 3rd year students get access to the best houses?
Every year there are a number of properties that never hit the market. These are houses passed from one group to another through word of mouth. Often second years already in the private rented sector will know other students in a house they particularly like and will sign for this house before house hunting starts. There is nothing you can do about this and it may be a practise that you will take part in too. For example,
Unipol offers all its current tenants a preview of its properties before they go on general release. So being in a Unipol property gives you extra benefits.
3rd year students often learn from poor decision making in their first year. They quickly learn what a bad house is and why it is important to sign up to a property that is covered by The Unipol Code. Therefore when house hunting in their second year they will know that it is not necessary to rush in to signing for a property and view a number of houses before making a decision. In addition they will choose their flatmates carefully often going for a smaller number of closer friends.
3rd year students will choose to stay in a good property. At Unipol 26% of our current tenants are those that decided to stay in their current property for another year or moved within the Unipol portfolio. Students that are happy in their property will be encouraged to stay where they are. This avoids the unnecessary disruption that moving home often causes.
Many Unipol Code landlords retain their tenants for consecutive years and often find their name as good landlords is passed from one year’s students to the next.
What can you do to change this view?
There are a number of things that you can do to make sure you get the best house possible for your group.
- Work out who you want to live with. Think about this carefully as you will end up living together for a whole year. If there are things that are irritating now a year can be a long time.
- Explore areas of Leeds to decide where you want to live. Most students decide on a property in LS6 but have a walk around different areas at different times of day and make sure you like the atmosphere and feel safe.
- Work out how much you can afford (don’t forget gas electricity etc.). This is a common mistake that many students make. Make sure that everyone in the group decides a budget and sticks to it. TIP: the general standard of student housing in Leeds is very good so you should easily find a property of excellent quality around the average rent.
- Discuss what you want in the property. Not everything will be possible but your group could draw up a list of essentials and desirables. TIP: If you are in halls your internet is normally already sorted. In the private rented sector some houses have this, some do not. Internet is relatively easy to install so don’t let this put you off a property if it isn’t there already.
The Unipol website carries details of properties available that are updated regularly and are displayed in a way that allows you to search for what you want using various user friendly search engines. This year there has been over 31 million hits on the web site with over 4.7 million page impressions made by students using the service.
Top Tips to consider
- Look into the legal aspects of renting – what are your landlord’s responsibilities and what are yours. Your Student Union is there to help you and will offer a free contract checking service so you can be happy that the contract you sign is fair. All new tenancies signed are subject to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). TIP: look at how this will affect you by picking up a leaflet in the accommodation bureau or online at: information on Tenancy Deposit Protection. Video coming soon!
- Take your time. Contrary to opinion there are plenty of good houses left well in to the house hunting season. There is a surplus of accommodation in Leeds, which means that you are well positioned to get the right property for you at the right price. TIP: If you leave your house hunting to later in the season you can often negotiate more easily with landlords.
- Don’t feel pressured. The Unipol Code landlords have agreed as part of the Code to give you 24 hours to seek independent legal advice on a contract before you sign anything. TIP: Take the time to make sure you are happy with your group and the house.
- Don’t believe the myths. Many Non-Unipol landlords would have you believe that everyone needs to pay sign up fees this is simply not true. Plenty of landlords who advertise with Unipol do not charge a sign-up fee. TIP: Some landlords and agents are charging larger than normal sign up fees and not charging deposits following the introduction of the TDS – remember if this is the case you will get none of this money back.
So although 3rd year students often have good houses this does not mean that you have to compromise. Use the tips above, understand the market, don’t rush, read the information that will be coming out from your institution, student Union and us and you too could have one of the best houses.
Housing listed through Unipol went live on Saturday 14th January 2012, There were over 11,500 bed spaces to view.
