All too often, we hear stories of landlords taking advantage of young people's lack of knowledge when it comes to their tenancy rights.
We're here with the facts, to help you know exactly what you do and don't have to put up with. After all, if you're clued up properly, you could save some serious money on renting.
Whether you're moving into your first privately rented flat, or you're already painfully familiar with the house-rental scene, you'll need to know your rights as a tenant.
For more details on housing contracts, take a look at our tenancy agreement checklist and don't forget to read our guide to getting your full housing deposit back.
Before getting into the finer details of your rights as a private renter, we'll clarify the meaning of HMO (house in multiple occupation).
An HMO is a larger property that's home to three or more unrelated people who are sharing facilities such as a toilet, bathroom or kitchen. And, by 'unrelated', we mean tenants who are not part of the same 'household' (i.e. family or a couple).
Most student houses will qualify as HMOs. When renting out properties like this, landlords are expected to follow extra procedures (which we'll explain as we go through).
Here are your rights as a student in shared or single accommodation:
There are a few things that your landlord is required by law to do to ensure you're protected against fire hazards in your property. Firstly, there should be adequate means of fire escape in your property. That means there should be at least one smoke alarm on every floor of the building which is used as living accommodation. Any room that has a working fireplace or burning stove also needs to have a carbon monoxide detector. If your property doesn't have one, we strongly recommend buying your own and invoicing your landlord for it. If your property is classed as an HMO, then your landlord is also legally required to fit a fire extinguisher on each floor. Make sure you check who's in charge of maintaining the alarms. If it's you, you'll have to ensure that they're working and never run out of battery. However, it's worth noting that the landlord must make sure the alarms are working at the start of each new tenancy.
As well as getting protected against the risk of fire, find out how to make your house safe from burglars in our guide.
Credit: dat' - Flickr
Student houses often play home to unwanted guests (and we don't mean your housemate's annoying other half). When it comes to infestations of mice, rats, bedbugs and bats (yep, even bats), it's often difficult to know who's responsible as it depends on a number of things. If you have mice, contact your landlord immediately and they should make plans to get rid of them ASAP. If you discover you've got rats, inform both your landlord and the local health authority. They'll make plans for a team of experts to come and deal with them, as rats are a massive health and safety risk. With bedbugs, it's a little more complicated. Essentially it comes down to whose 'fault' it is that the property has bedbugs. It's something that can be pretty difficult to determine. If bedbugs were present when you moved in, or the infestation was down to some kind of defect in the property or its contents, it's the landlord's responsibility to resolve it. If they turned up after you moved in and were down to negligence on your part (e.g. poor hygiene or not cleaning regularly), chances are it'll be your job to get rid of the bedbugs. In short, there are some basic things to consider if you have a pest problem:
Nobody wants to find a pest infestation when they move in, but that was just the tip of the iceberg for these students.
Credit: Borsuk Renat – Shutterstock
Minor repairs, such as changing lightbulbs and fuses, are usually down to the tenant. Plus, any damage caused by yourself or your guests will have to be sorted by you.
Problems with damp affect a lot of student tenants (37%, according to our most recent National Student Accommodation Survey). Whether it's your landlord's responsibility or not depends on who caused it. For example, if you don't ventilate the property properly and cause condensation dampness, then it could be your responsibility to fix it.
Credit: dotshock – Shutterstock
Seek legal advice immediately if your landlord threatens to evict you. If there's no court order included in your eviction notice, this is illegal. Only a bailiff with a valid warrant can evict you.
It's also considered a crime for your landlord to use any harassment tactics to get you out of the property. These include:
If you think your landlord is breaching the terms of your tenancy agreement or is acting in a way that is illegal, contact your local Citizen's Advice Bureau for advice. If you're living in halls, it's best to contact your uni accommodation office.
They'll be able to help you iron out any issues, and advise on what your best course of action is.
Your landlord may be responsible for fire safety and appliances in the property, but you're responsible for getting contents insurance for your possessions.
Jake joined Save the Student in 2010 and is the COO. As an expert across student finance, Jake has appeared on The BBC, The Guardian, Which?, ITV, Channel 5 and many other outlets. He particularly enjoys sharing tips on saving money and making extra money with opportunities like paid surveys and part-time jobs.
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