Canterbury Student Accommodation |
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Last updated: 14th November 2007 |
Guide To Renting a Student House in Canterbury |
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IntroductionWe have a selection of fully-furnished houses for rent to students in Canterbury. We have houses for rent ranging from 4 to 7 bedrooms. All of our properties for rent are within walking distance of the centre of Canterbury.We rent our houses out to groups of friends, on a single Tenancy Agreement. Occasionally we rent the houses on a "room by room" basis, but we prefer not to do this. Finding People to Share a House WithWe prefer that a group of friends who have chosen to share a house together come to us and rent a whole house. We prefer this way of renting, as opposed to us renting each room separately, because it is important that the people sharing the house will get on well with each other. If people have been friends for a while and know their mates' bad habits etc, and STILL want to live with them, then it makes for less trouble for us, because we don't want to deal with house-mates falling out with each other part way through the year. Try to choose housemates who have the same lifestyle as you do! Sample DocumentsThese documents (listed on the left) are the ones that we usually ask our tenants to sign. They are in Rich Text Format (.RTF) which will open in most Word Processor programs, including Microsoft Word. Frequently Asked Questions - Please ReadAre the utility bills (gas, electricity, water etc.) included in the rent?No. You will have to pay the gas, water and electricity bills between you. You will also have to pay phone bills if you have a phone line connected, and probably a TV licence as well. Generally, Landlords do not include gas and electricity bills in the rent because they have no control over how much these bills are. Who pays the Council Tax?You are also responsible for paying the Council Tax, although in practice, if everyone in the house is a full-time student, the household is exempt from the Council Tax. It is still your job to get documents from your University or College to show that you are students, and to send these to the council. We cannot do this for you. You can view or print Canterbury City council's exemption form by CLICKING HERE. Why do you prefer to rent whole houses to a group, rather than rent the rooms separately?We prefer that a group of friends, who have chosen to share a house together, come to us and rent a whole house. We prefer this way of renting, as opposed to us renting each room separately, because it is important that the people sharing the house will get on well with each other. If people have been friends for a while and know their mates' bad habits etc, and STILL want to live with them, then it makes for less trouble for us, because we don't want to deal with house-mates falling out with each other part way through the year. We will generally only rent a place "room by room" if we can't find a group of friends to take the house together. Can I have partners / friends to stay in the house?We don't mind people having boyfriends / girlfriends / mates to stay once in a while, but you must be considerate to your housemates. It's not fair to effectively have an extra person staying all the time unless you agree it with all the people that you share with. What about smoking in the house?We would rather you didn't, but we don't forbid it. If you are a smoker, this is something that you should agree on with the people that you share with. You might agree that smokers will only smoke in their own rooms, for example. We would ask people who smoke to be careful not to burn carpets, furniture etc, or these will have to be replaced at your cost. What happens if someone leaves the house during the year?If this happens, then it is up to everyone to find a suitable person to replace the person who wants to leave. We will be happy with your choice of replacement person provided that they pay their rent and treat the house correctly. Remember, though, that all the tenants in a house are jointly responsible for paying all of the rent, so one person cannot simply leave and then say that it is no longer anything to do with them. It is also the responsibility of the person moving out to pay their share of gas / electricity bills etc. The Tenancy Agreement makes all of the occupants jointly responsible for all of the rent, so if a room remains empty, the others still have to make up the full rent due. Why do you ask for parental guarantees from student tenants?To increase the chances of us getting paid, and to reduce the risk of the houses being damaged, to put it bluntly. The parental guarantee would only be used in the event that rent owed or damage done exceeded the value of the deposit held by the Landlord. Do you offer discounts if all of the rent for a year is paid in advance?Yes we do, as follows: If all of the rent for the year is paid before September 1st in the year of moving in, 5% discount. If all of the rent for the year is paid before March 1st in the year of moving in, 10% discount. If one person in a house pays their share of the rent in advance, we will discount their proportion of the rent for the year. Contacting UsWe are always willing to discuss your needs for houses in Canterbury. We would prefer to be contacted by email, but you can phone or fax us on the numbers below if needed. We can usually arrange viewings fairly quickly, but please bear in mind we have to arrange a convenient time with the students already living in each house. Email: canterbury@amherst.co.uk Phone: 07973 147257 or 020 7328 9792. Fax: 020 7209 2704 Post: Canterbury Student Accommodation, c/o 72 Kingsgate Road, London NW6 4TE |
