Before you start your search, what to consider:
Register
Register with Arington. Once registered you will receive property updates from Arington, as soon as properties become available.
Calculate your budget
On top of the rent you will need to make allowance for bills (council tax, electricity, gas, drinking water and waste water), Arington tenant fees, tenants’ contents insurance as well as food and living expenses.
Council Tax
Where all the tenants are students within a property, you will be able to apply for exemption. Don’t be caught out...if just one tenant in the property is NOT a student then the property will become liable for council tax.
Utilities
Arington will offer price comparisons so you are able to choose the most suitable deal for yourselves. Arington will notify the utility companies at the commencement and end of the tenancy saving you time. You will also be offered deals for media (Virgin Media, Sky, etc) and telephone packages.
Calculating rent
There can often be confusion around weekly and monthly rental prices, due to there being 52 weeks in the year, equating to 4.33 weeks per month. Tenancy agreements will normally state a monthly rent whereas internet sites marketing properties (such as Rightmove) will often state a weekly rent. To calculate the weekly and monthly rent use the following:
- Monthly rent to weekly rent = Monthly rent * 12 months / 52 weeks = weekly rent
- Weekly rent to monthly rent = Weekly rent * 52 weeks / 12 months = monthly rent
Who to live with
You will be signing a joint and severally liable legally binding tenancy agreement, usually for a period of 12 months. It is important to be sure that the housemates you choose, you will not only get on with but will be reliable. In our experience, mixed groups have fewer disagreements.
Location & property
Consider if you wish to be close to the University or town centre and transport links. Location has an impact on the price you will pay. Brighton & Hove offers a diverse range of accommodation from studio apartments through to 10 bedroom shared houses.
Parking permits
Not all areas of Brighton & Hove require parking permits. If you want to bring a car to University, when viewing a property be sure to ask Arington if you require a parking permit. More information can be found on parking permits.
Letting agents
Not all agents are the same, some agents are not regulated and rogue agents can cost you money and time, along with stress. We would always recommend using a ARLA Propertymark (the Association of Residential Letting Agents) agent as Arington are, as well as being members of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) and Safe Agent, meaning we adhere to the highest standards within the industry and your money is protected. Why choose Arington
A useful guide is the government’s How to Rent Guide.
When to look
The exact time of when properties are released varies, with the majority being released around January for move around July to September time.
The best properties don’t hang around, secure them early.
Register with Arington. Once registered you will receive property updates from Arington, as soon as properties become available.
Rental Process
Viewings
Demand is high and the best student properties go quickly. When you see a property you like, contact Arington and arrange a viewing as soon as you can. Arington will accompany all viewings and answer any questions you may have. Arington’s full Tenant’s Terms and Conditions will be available for you upon the viewing or in our offices.
Select a property
Once you have decided upon a property, contact Arington, Arington will ask you to complete our paperwork confirming all the details surrounding the rental, and ask you to make a payment (see Arington tenant fees for further information). You will be asked to provide your details along with your guarantor’s details. If you do not have a guarantor, you will be asked to make payment for the rent for the full tenancy term in advance, prior to the commencement of the tenancy. Subject to the landlord’s agreement, we will progress with referencing and once successfully completed we will arrange the move in.
Pre move in
Arington will keep you and your guarantor updated at every stage, confirming the steps required before you move in. In general, you will be asked to pay a move in balance, sign tenancy agreements, sign and return guarantor addendums with witnessed identification, set up and provide confirmation of a standing order for the rent and provide tenant identification. For acceptable valid forms of identification please see here.
Tenants’ Contents insurance
The landlord’s insurance will not normally cover tenants’ contents. Arington recommend taking out some form of tenants’ contents insurance to include cover for accidental damage to the landlord’s contents, theft, fire or flood damage to personal items and / or key replacement due to loss or theft of keys.
Move in
Arington will confirm a time for a check in appointment where we will meet you at the property to settle you in and hand over the keys. Where instructed by the landlord, Arington will arrange for an Inventory to be produced. Please read the Inventory carefully and return it to Arington or the inventory clerk within 7 days of receipt. The inventory will be used at the end of the tenancy to determine any proposed deductions from the security deposit.
Property management
Where Arington act as managing agent, any maintenance / repairs report a repair.
During your tenancy
Social responsibility
Student housing is mixed in with non student households. Arington recommend you consider your neighbours who most likely have different living hours and lifestyles to yourselves. Take the time to introduce yourselves and get to know your neighbours and freely discuss any concerns they or you may have. You are also responsible for any guests. Ensure noise is kept to a minimum, especially between 10pm and 7am and that rubbish is disposed of appropriately. Brighton and Hove seagulls are determined to ‘share rubbish with your neighbours’ should it not be securely contained within the bins provided.
Tips for Students
- If you are struggling with your bins and finding you are continually producing more waste than they can hold, Brighton & Hove council are able to analyse your waste over a period of time, where if they deem you to be recycling your waste satisfactorily they will provide a larger bin. Where you do have excess waste, it can be disposed of at the local refuse site, Recycling, rubbish and street cleaning.
- Check your bin collection day.
Personal & property safety
Thefts from properties are rare but do occur. When they do it is generally due to a door being left open or unlocked whilst all tenants are out. When you leave the property take the time to check that both front and back doors are locked and windows are secure. To protect yourselves, try to always travel with a friend and where not let somebody know where you are and roughly the time you will be back. For added peace of mind a personal alarm is a good idea. Do not let anyone into the property without knowing who they are.
Property management
Where Arington manage the property, we will arrange routine inspections during your tenancy. These provide Arington and the landlord the opportunity to ensure the property is being looked after and also provides students with the chance to report and highlight any maintenance issues, if you have any questions we’re here to help...just ask Arington. Report a repair.
Damp, condensation and mould growth
Where damp and / or condensation occur, mould growth can form. Damp due to a property defect (for example a missing roof tile, damp proof course failure, etc) will normally be obvious and leave a tide mark. If there is no tide mark the cause is most likely condensation. The simple acts of everyday living produce condensation. If moisture in the air is not allowed to escape and the temperature within the property drops, the moisture will condense on the coldest location, commonly around window frames, on exterior walls and where there is no air movement (behind furniture). Where moisture condenses and does not dry out mould growth will commonly appear. Arington will provide you with our full guide to damp and condensation upon your move in.
Smoke & Carbon monoxide alarms
Arington will check that the appropriate alarms are in place and working at the commencement of the tenancy. During the tenancy, It is the tenants responsibility to test the alarms and replace batteries where required. Arington advise setting up a monthly rota to make sure this essential task is performed.
Cleaning & gardening
Disputes commonly arise in shared households due to cleaning and gardening responsibilities not being shared equally. Arington advise you take the time at the commencement of the tenancy to set up a weekly rota, assigning jobs to each household member, so you all know what areas you are responsible for.
Post
When moving in and out of a property be sure to update all your contacts with your new address. If post is received at a property that is not for any of the current occupiers, Arington recommend crossing through the address, writing on the envelope ‘not at this address, return to sender’, highlighting or circling the return address and placing the post back in the post box, no stamp required. The post office will then send this back to the sender who will be able to update their records preventing future post being sent.
Paying rent
Arington offer students the option to pay their rent individually. We also allow students to split the rent proportionally, for example if a room has an en suite and therefore the student with the en suite agrees to pay a higher proportion of the rent, as long as these figures are agreed prior to the commencement of the tenancy. Arington ask for rent payments to be set up by standing order, however should it be easier for your budgeting, we are able to accept payments for several months in advance, i.e. when you receive your student loan payments. No matter how you choose to pay, the tenancy is jointly and severally liable with the full rent being payable in advance by or on the rent due date (as detailed in the tenancy agreement).
Exiting the agreement early
Student tenancies are legally binding agreements for fixed periods, where the tenants and guarantors are jointly and severally liable. It is not possible to simply walk away or move a replacement in without following the proper procedures. Should you wish to leave a property during your tenancy contact Arington for further information on how we can help.
Ending or renewing your tenancy
Arington will contact you before commencing marketing of your property for the next student year, giving you the option to renew. Should you choose not to renew your tenancy will come to an end at the end of the fixed period for which Arington will provide you notice along with details of the move out process.
Security deposit return
Following the end of the fixed period tenancy, Arington will assess the condition of the property compared to the original condition it was provided, and arrange any repairs, cleaning, gardening, etc where required. Arington will correspond with the landlord and agree any deductions to be submitted. We endeavour to complete this process as swiftly as possible, so the security deposits can be refunded.