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► Information Leaflet for Landlords
Information for Landlords
Housing adverts
Student safety
Tenancy agreements
Advice
The information below has been checked for accuracy at the date of
printing. It will be reissued when significant changes occur.
Aston Students’ Guild
Advice & Representation Centre
December 2009
1. Cost of advertising for the 2010-2011 academic year
1 property or room £35
Up to 2 properties £70
Up to 3 properties £90
Up to 4 properties £110
Up to 5 properties £140
Up to 10 properties £250
Up to 20 properties £425
Up to 40 properties £600
Up to 2 properties £70
Up to 3 properties £90
Up to 4 properties £110
Up to 5 properties £140
Up to 10 properties £250
Up to 20 properties £425
Up to 40 properties £600
These charges cover all the advertising for the academic year including renewing the adverts and any changes you might wish to make.
2. Studentpad: internet based advertising
The Advice & Representation Centre (ARC) uses Studentpad, a web based software company, to offer information about your accommodation to students and potential students. The house/flat adverts can display details and up to 6 photographs of each property. The student user can make a targeted, specific search of property to match their needs. This reduces the time spent in hunting and lessens the possibility of students viewing property that may not be suitable for their needs.
The benefits to landlords are that information about houses and flats is more accessible. As a landlord you will not need to have access to the internet yourself; the students will contact you by telephone. However, if you do have internet access, you will be able to receive contacts by email as well as having access to be able to make changes to your advert. You will also be able to use the property management software, which will help you in your day-to-day tasks e.g. to automatically send emails to students reminding them of their rent. We will continue only to advertise your basic information – only your name and contact number. Neither your personal address nor the house number of the property you are advertising for let will be displayed on the website.
N.B. The ARC can not guarantee to find tenants for you.
Please see section 6 for the letting procedure
3. Student Safety.
GAS Landlords are legally responsible for ensuring gas appliances, including gas cookers and gas hobs, are maintained in good order and checked for safety every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered inspector or by British Gas. The ARC need a photocopy of the current gas safety certificate. Landlords should also give tenants a copy of the most recent gas safety certificate as they move into the property and give tenants a copy of any new certificate if and when the certificate is renewed during the tenancy.
ELECTRIC To accompany your advertthe ARC asks landlords to provide proof that the house is covered by an electric periodic inspection report issued by an approved body. Approved bodies currently include: BRE Certification Limited;
British Standards Institution;
ELECSA Limited, part of FENSA and BBA;
NICEIC Certification Services Limited;
Zurich Certification Ltd.
Reports must contain a schedule of test results with nothing coded 1 or 2 in the observations and recommendations box. The normal length of a certificate for a student house is 3-5 years. Completion certificates are not usually accepted as they rarely include a full schedule of test results. Visual inspections are not accepted. You also have a responsibility to ensure any electrical equipment supplied in the accommodation is safe to use.
ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES
Please include your Energy Performance Certificate Report Reference Number on your application form.
LICENSING for Houses of Multiple Occupation
Landlords advertising housing of three storeys or more (ground floor, first floor and second or attic floor) & accommodating 5 or more students, must provide a copy of their mandatory licence.
using the link to private housing
FURNITURE All upholstered furniture e.g. beds, head-boards, mattresses, pillows, sofas, settees etc. must comply with the fire resistance requirements of the Furniture and Furnishings ( Fire) (Safety) regulations 1988 as amended.
4. Tenancy Agreements.
You should ask for legal advice from a solicitor before letting your property. The ARC can provide you with a free copy of an assured shorthold agreement, suitable for student lettings.
5. Resident Landlords.
Special rules apply to resident landlords living at the same address as their tenants. A government leaflet may be downloaded from www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/lettingrooms
.You can not use the ARC tenancy agreements because they are not valid for situations where the landlord and tenant share the property. You will be eligible for tax relief (see section 13). The ARC will need a gas certificate but does not require an electric certificate.
6. Letting procedure
◄ Complete a property details form for each property. The forms are available from the ARC or can be downloaded from
◄Please enclose 6 photos of the house if available (2 external and 4 internal views) or email them as jpeg files to k.d.howard@aston.ac.uk
◄Enclose copies of gas and electric safety certificates, of the Energy Performance Certificates and of any HMO licences if required
◄Enclose a cheque made payable to Aston Students’ Guild or pay by card by telephoning Jayne Sheldon weekdays 10 am to 2 pm in the Guild Finance Office 0121 204 4836.
7. Contacting the Advice & Representation Centre.
The housing list is the day to day responsibility of Karen Howard at the Advice & Representation Centre. Karen may be contacted:
By phone on 0121 204 4848 (weekdays 9.45 am to 5 pm)
By fax on 0121 204 4858
By email to k.d.howard@aston.ac.uk
By writing to the address above
By visiting the Advice & Representation Centre on the 1st floor of the Students’ Guild any weekday between 10 am and 5 pm.
Karen normally takes a lunch break from 12.30 until 1 p.m.
8. Deposits.
Deposits have to be repaid unless there is a breach of contract such as rent arrears or damage for which the students are responsible. Deposits can not be kept for normal wear and tear.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
If you take a deposit and use assured shorthold tenancy agreements, the Housing Act 2004 requires you to protect your tenants’ deposits by taking out special insurance or by handing the deposits to a third party. See www.direct.gov.uk/tenancydeposit
9. Rent and the post-dating of cheques.
If rent is paid weekly, tenants must be provided with a rent book. Providing receipts protects both landlord and tenant. Landlords sometimes ask for post-dated cheques but some banks say if a post-dated cheque is presented early, the post-dated date will be ignored. Students are advised to check with their bank.
10. Water
Landlords usually collect water rates/charges as part of the rent. If the rent does not include the water rates, students should be told to expect a separate bill. Students who pay the water bill themselves, have tenancies which usually cover part of two different water rate years and this can cause endless problems!
11. Rights of entry (non-resident landlords).
You do not have the right to enter the property unless in an emergency. The tenants have the right of 'quiet enjoyment'. The students should allow you to check for, or carry out, repairs provided you have given reasonable notice (at least 24 hours).
12. Council Tax.
There is no Council Tax to pay if a house only contains full time students . Houses which have one or more non-students in them will incur a Council Tax charge. Please ask for a copy of the ARC leaflet "Council Tax".
13. Income Tax
If you are a resident landlord, letting a room in the home where you live, you are eligible for the rent-a-room tax relief scheme. Any rent you receive annually of up to £4250 will be exempt from income tax.
If you are not a resident landlord and you let furnished property, the income from furnished lettings is usually treated as profits of a Schedule A rental business.
Contact your income tax office for further details.
14. Gas, Electric, Telephone.
Ensure it is clear which company supplies the tenants with these services. Ask the tenants to put the bills into their names as soon as they arrive and to obtain final accounts as they leave. You are advised to read the meters with the students as they arrive and depart.
15. Insurance.
You should insure the building and any contents provided. Students will need to insure their belongings. Most insurance companies insist that students should have individually locking doors on their rooms.
16. Repairs.
You are responsible for maintaining the outside of the house and for the upkeep of water and gas pipes, electric wiring and sockets, basins, sinks, baths and toilets, water heaters and fixed heaters such as gas fires. If students deliberately damage the house, they can be asked to pay for the damage or have money withheld from the deposit to cover the cost of repairs. They can not be charged for normal wear and tear.
17. Fire Safety and exits
Shared houses should be protected by a three part system: A fire detection system to alert tenants; A safe and well lit escape route; Fire fighting equipment. The rules are more complex, involving linked smoke/heat detectors, where houses comprise 6 or more tenants and/or where the houses are of more than 2 storeys because more fire related deaths occur in such properties. Conversely the rules are less stringent in 2 storey houses where there are 5 or less tenants. Full details of the rules can be obtained by phoning the City Council on 0121 303 5341
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