Househunting Guide

Yes,  it’s that time of year when agents and landlords are touting for your custom and want to get you signed up for your accomodation for the next academic year. Some of you will want to stay in Halls and some will want to find a good private house instead. But remember that there is more student accommodation of all types available, than there are students in Leeds, so our advice is: don’t rush in and regret!

Instead you should take your time to find somewhere that you and your prospective housemates will be happy to live for the whole of the next year, and if possible you should always secure your accommodation through Unipol. 

Approved housing list

Unipol publishes a list of approved private housing every year and it is now available on the Unipol Website

• Decide where you want to live. Have a look round all the different areas where student accommodation is available and investigate the areas well. What is the area like? What are the local facilities? How far is it from Uni?
• You could speak to any friends you know that live in the area and ask them what it’s like.
• Don’t limit yourself to just one preferred area you may need to look further a field for what you want.
• Next check your budget and work out how much you are going to be able to afford to pay.
• Don’t forget to think about who you want to live with next year; people you get on with now might turn out to be the co-tenants from hell by the end of the year. 
• Seek advice on the legal issues from your student union advice service before you start looking and be prepared to ask your prospective landlord questions about your contract.

We have also devised a handy house-hunting guide with our top ten tips for finding a place as well as some helpful explanations of some of the terms you might come across in your tenancy agreement.

We have also put together a property checklist that you can print off and take with you on viewings so that you can be confident that you've got everything covered.

Contract checking