Student housing: a guide to get the best deal

The rush to secure student housing can be daunting at the best of times and very scary at the worst. With pricing, location, estate agents and the University’s available services all to be considered, it is difficult to know where to start. Well, here are some nuggets of, quite literally, home truths that even Kirstie Allsopp from Location, Location, Location would struggle to find.

Most students decide to live in Leamington Spa. Being a 20 to 25 minute bus ride away from campus, you might find that the cost of travel will be more expensive than coming in from Kenilworth or Coventry; however, the plentiful bars and restaurants, the scenic Pump Rooms and spa buildings may make the cost worth it. Houses in North and Central Leamington tend to be marginally more expensive than those in South Leamington; for example, a 5 bed house on Granville Street in North Leamington Spa will cost £300 per calendar month per person, whereas a 5 bed house on Brunswick Street in South Leamington Spa will come in at roughly £250-£275 per person. Of course, this is not forgetting the fact that the scramble for the bus in the morning tends to be less stressful in South Leamington.

However, your decision to live in South Leamington or North Leamington may rest upon factors other than pricing: South Leamington has better links to Leamington Train Station (with its super-fast Chiltern Service to London), and is close to Evolve and Kelseys (what better way to congratulate money saved than with an Eliminator?), whereas houses in North Leamington tend to have easier access to the high street, are close to primary student clubs like Smack and, more debatably, adult bars like the White Horse. Locations like Clarendon Square in North Leamington are expensive but encompass everything great that Leamington Spa has to offer.

Estate agents available for housing in Leamington Spa include Dhesi Estates (with over 40 properties still available ranging from £230-£570pcm), Central Housing (with 23 properties left under student dwellings, ranging from £260 to £344 pcm), Accord, Tara & Co and Heritage Property, who also offer housing in Kenilworth and Coventry. Unfortunately, Newman Estates has a sign up on its door informing students that there are no student houses left for 2012-2013, but this should not be an indication that housing is now few and far between; as shown above, there are still plenty of student houses available for you to pick from.

The services on offer amongst the different estate agencies vary greatly; it is important to find one whom you trust and whose services cater to the needs of your group. Jus Dhesi, from Dhesi Estates, says: “We offer a friendly, reliable service.” Certainly, an element of mutual trust is there, for if a landlord refuses to intervene in a matter of critical importance, then Dhesi will do his best to intervene on the matter and, if necessary, take it into his own hands; however, this is a subjective promise and it might be better to negotiate the terms on when intervention will take place, along with a stipulated time frame. Along with a personable service, they offer competitive fees, with only a £40 admin charge, a simple process involving only five steps, company viewings upon appointment and they demand a deposit of one month’s rent in advance, as stipulated by the DPS. Some properties have bills included.

Meanwhile, Central Housing offers properties that are largely managed by landlords who have opted for a fully service maintenance package from their own trades people so that if your boiler does pack up one cold evening or your ceiling falls in (which is one of my housing horror stories from second year), you can be relatively confident that the agency will ensure that the matter is attended to urgently. They ask for an admin charge of £50 (slightly higher), but they also make no charge for reserving a property, and as they specialise in student housing, most of the properties are only 10 to 11 month contracts (be wary of the 12 month contract!)

For housing in Coventry and Kenilworth, there are plenty of estate agents (Grant Property, Concentric Lettings, J’habite, Bluewood, to name but a few). Your first port of call, however, might be Warwick Accommodation, who owns houses in all three of the desired locations. Its perks include: all of the properties comply with the Local Authority’s accreditation standards (no collapsing ceilings for you, my spoiled rotten darlings), all properties are well-maintained and furnished (although many come without duvets and pillows) and tenants have a Property Manager to assist them with dealing with issues that may arise (hurrah!) Even better, the costs are well and truly cheap: there are no admin fees and no payments at all until your rent is due (which means you avoid having to pay the dreaded deposit). Warwick Accommodation can also offer a more hands-on, tailored service that ensures your needs are met for the rest of your stay at the university, along with an insurance cover of £4,000 per person for personal possessions. However, gas and electricity is normally not included in the rent.

When choosing a house to make a home, the sacrifice in costs does depend upon your individual and group needs; you also need to look beyond face value and be diligent about working out the living costs that will be incurred over the year. You should, however, be looking to pay £3500-£3700 for the time period that you are renting, though it could be more or less, and you won’t know you have a bargain until you work out gas, electricity and travel costs. Helpful guidance can be found at http://www.warwicksu.com/relax/, including information on upcoming talks on housing (ranging from emotional to practical advice). Izzy John, your welfare officer in the Warwick SU, says: “All our advice centre staff are equipped with the skills to help students and the service is free and confidential.”

In the meantime, don’t sign until you have done your homework and talked to as many advisors as you can. Happy house-hunting, folks.