What is a budgeted allowance scheme?
What do I have to pay prior to the start of the tenancy?
East Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme (EMLAS)
How do I know I'll get my security deposit back?
House in Multiple Occupation (HMO)
When do your houses get booked up?
When can we view your houses in Loughborough?
What type of tenancy agreement will we be signing?
What is a Deed of Guarantee for payment?
How is rent calculated and paid?
Can I access the Internet in my room?
Is there a TV point in my room?
Landlords never maintain their houses, do they?
It's an all inclusive package! Rent includes the cost of Water Rates and TV Licence along with bills for electricity, gas, media and communications.
Water Rates: the cost of water supply and sewerage services is included in your rent.
TV Licence: the cost of a TV Licence is included in your rent.
Electricity and Gas: your home has an allowance of £260 per tenant per year (£5 per tenant per week) included in the rent to budget for the cost of the electricity and gas you use during your tenancy. The electricity and gas accounts are in my name and I pay the bills on your behalf - so you will never get cut off.
I regularly research the whole market for the most competitive tariff and switch to the best supplier. I manage the accounts online (paperless billing) and discounts are earned by opting for a dual-fuel account and for paying by monthly direct debit.
Adding up the bills from all my houses over the last couple of years, the average cost for electricity and gas has been as follows:
£260 per tenant is the estimated budget for Academic Year 2011-2012 (£5 per tenant per week).
However, the actual amount of bills will depend on the prevailing unit cost of electricity and gas and the actual usage in your home i.e. how long the central heating is programmed to come on for etc.
Meter readings will be taken at the start of your tenancy, quarterly and then final readings will be taken at the end of your tenancy. I will provide you with a copy of the quarterly bills showing the cost of electricity and gas usage at your home. At the end of the tenancy, it is agreed that if the total cost of the gas and electricity used during your tenancy is more than £260 per tenant then the extra over amount is to be paid to me (by you). It is also agreed that if the total cost of the gas and electricity used during your tenancy is less than £260 per tenant then the amount under is reimbursed to you (by me).
This budgeted allowance scheme is very effective because you are in full control of your electricity and gas usage. It also means that you only pay for what you use and encourages responsibility towards the environment.
Media and Communications: your home has an allowance of £360 per year (£30 per month) included in the rent to budget for the cost of the media and communications you use during your tenancy. You must decide yourselves what media and communications services you require, contact the service provider directly and open an account in your name. I will set up a standing order to credit the account holder who pays for these services.
Virgin Media offers the fastest broadband download speeds in Loughborough with 9 month contracts for students as follows:
Council Tax: Full time students living in shared private rented accommodation (occupied solely by students) are exempt from paying council tax.
Insurance for buildings and contents (owned by me): is my responsibility and there is no charge passed on to you.
Insurance for your own personal possessions: you are responsible for insuring your own personal possessions.
There is no signing fee for my Loughborough student houses and there is nothing to pay until July.
To confirm your reservation for a house I do ask you to sign a tenancy agreement and at the start of the tenancy there is a returnable security deposit of £250 per tenant to pay.
I am an Accredited Landlord through the East Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme. EMLAS accredits the landlord rather than the property, but EMLAS staff carry out random property inspections to ensure that properties registered with the scheme meet the legal minimum requirements. At least 10% of properties are inspected when a landlord initially joins the scheme, though this figure can be far higher in some cases. Properties are then randomly sampled on an on-going basis to ensure that compliance is being maintained. EMLAS will also randomly sample tenants, usually through postal questionnaires, to establish whether or not their landlord continues to comply with the scheme's Code of Management.
If you select an EMLAS landlord, you take the risk out of choosing your property. Landlords that have come forward to join the scheme have done so on an entirely voluntary basis. They have joined the scheme because they believe they are the best in the business and can be relied upon to make your experience as a tenant as enjoyable as possible. See website www.emlas.org.uk for more information.
I am a professional landlord with a properly designated client account. At the commencement of the tenancy you will be issued with a detailed statement of condition and inventory and asked to check and sign it.
Once the tenancy has finished I will check the property (with you) and subject to there being no damage and no cleaning required, your security deposit will be returned within 28 days of the end of the tenancy.
The Housing Act 2004 requires all landlords who take a security deposit for tenancies starting after 06 April 2007 to join a government-authorised tenancy deposit scheme.
As a member of the National Landlords Association I have registered as a member of a government-authorised insurance-based scheme operated by Tenancy Deposit Solutions Ltd (a company jointly owned by the National Landlords Association and Hamilton Fraser Insurance Services Ltd) - see website www.mydeposits.co.uk for more information.
All my houses are let under joint tenancy agreements and so each house has Nominated Tenant who will be the point of communication for the Scheme Administrator.
The Housing Act 2004 defines an HMO as being any bed-sit, house or flat which is occupied by people from more than one family. A new definition brings shared student houses into this category and standards for amenities, room sizes and management apply.
Larger HMOs - defined as being those houses that are shared by five or more occupants and that also have three or more habitable floors - must be licensed by the local authority.
It seems to get earlier each year so my advice is this: the early bird catches the worm. Many students form groups during the autumn term and start house hunting in spring term in preparation for the following academic year. But because my houses are so popular, last year I had enquiries during October / November and everything had been booked up by Christmas.
So the sooner you secure your accommodation with me for next year, the better. Later in the year, choice can become severely restricted.
I'll make an appointment pretty much any time to suit you and show you round myself. Often the current tenants are happy to show you round, so just knock on the door and ask - this will also give you the opportunity to ask for inside information about me, as a landlord, and my houses.
I only let my student houses in Loughborough to groups of students who want to fill a whole house and the tenancy agreement is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy as defined in Section 20 of the Housing Act 1988, see sample contract (65KB PDF file).
The tenancy runs from 01 July for 12 months and I will ask each of you to sign a single tenancy agreement as joint tenants.
Once you have all signed the tenancy agreement I shall write to your Parent or Guardian to ask them to guarantee the payment of your individual share of the rent.
The guarantee is for a joint assured shorthold tenancy where the guarantor's liability for rent is limited to the individual Tenant's share but is otherwise unlimited.
Rent for the house for the whole year is specified in the tenancy agreement and is calculated by multiplying the number of rooms by the average rent per room per week by 52 weeks.
Each tenant is equally responsible for paying rent for the whole house and rent becomes due for payment quarterly in advance - 1st July, 1st October, 1st January and 1st April.
If required, the actual payment dates for 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters can be arranged to coincide with student loan dates.
I am also happy to discuss other payment dates (and other payment frequencies).
Yes, every room in every house has an Ethernet network point hard wired to a local area network ready for connection to a high-speed broadband modem/wireless router. All you need do is decide which ISP you want to go with and what broadband package you want.
Whether the connection is wired or wireless a high-speed broadband modem/wireless router allows PCs in every room to be online simultaneously with no loss of speed. Only one broadband account is required and Virgin Media has some fantastic bundles for students on a 9 month contract.
Yes, all my houses have a digital TV aerial on the roof and a state of the art TV distribution system. So, every room has a TV point supplying a high quality digital TV signal. If you subscribe to Cable TV or Sky TV you can even watch this in your room as well.
I keep my Loughborough student houses in tip-top condition and I ask you to let me know straight away if there is something in need of repair. I deal with all maintenance problems promptly and always arrange a suitable time and date with you to carry out the work.
Just have a look round any of my houses in Loughborough, ask the current tenants and make up your own mind.
Leicestershire County Council is responsible for the administration of Residents' Parking Schemes in Charnwood Borough. The schemes are designed to help residents park close to their homes, while deterring vehicles from outside the area from parking and causing congestion. These schemes do not reserve places exclusively for each permit holder, but permit holders can park in any of the streets within their designated scheme area (zone) in the resident parking bays provided.
Residents are guaranteed one permit per property at a cost of £30 - valid for 12 months - additional permits can be applied for and are issued subject to availability.
For further details of where the Residents' Parking schemes are, how they operate and how to apply for a permit please see the Residents' Parking area on Leicestershire County Council's Parking Matters page.
