Member Article

How to Deal with Common Student Accommodation Problems

Often, students face accommodation problems when they are out from their comfortable homes and travel to a foreign land for the sake of higher studies. To many students finding right accommodation is itself noted to be a major hurdle. This is due to the fact students in foreign lands do not know anybody who can offer them with a shelter to live. Also, for many students, there is no access to a proper source of information regarding the rent prices or tenant laws. There can also be many issues that can commonly arise while living in accommodation in foreign lands. The following are some issues that are faced by many students while looking for or living in accommodations and consequently how these issues can be solved.

Students living in rented apartments face occasional arguments over petty issues like sharing of common corridors, washing up and similar other stuffs. In such cases, the best possible way to solve such issues is by entering into direct discussions with your flat mates. There is no doubt that such amicable solutions enable students to stay safely and make their stay all the much enjoyable as all things get sorted through the help of agreements and discussions. However, experience says the above-mentioned issues are petty ones and there are indeed some serious issues are needed to be focused upon. For instance, students might be facing the problem of losing their own pocket money over repair of crack above the roof. In that case, the students are needed to be aware of their rights and also responsibilities as tenants.

Major problems might arise when students are found to be sharing house on rent. Students unknowingly often enter into tenancy agreements jointly with the landlord. This must always be avoided by the students as this might lead to a situation when one of the residents have to bear the entire burden of rent as his partner has left for the good. Joint tenancy agreement therefore contains financial burden with the tenants hence, one should avoid such agreements.

So, it is always to be made sure that letting agent or landlord have taken up the responsibility of finding someone else for you when one of the students leave the flat. In case there is any conflict due to rend sharing and payment in such situations when one of the partner students leaves, the best would to seek for assistance from the department of students services. The student service department is found to be quite helpful during such cases of conflicts.

In most of the cases, the serious monetary problems arise when the students tend to leave the rented houses. While leaving the house, the students can face the problem of not getting back the deposit amount. In order to avoid such issues, the landlord is required to provide a proof that the amount has been deposited in the Deposit Protection Scheme during the time of moving in. The schemes are there in order to make sure that the landlords are not able to keep large amounts of deposit during the time when the tenants move out. So, when one faces the problem of receiving back the deposit amount then he may contact the Deposit Protection Scheme. In fact, it is recommended that the students should contact the officials of Deposit Protection Scheme especially during the time when the landlord seems to be unreasonable. The students can also get in contact with the student services department in case they require help.

Tenant students can also face the problem of intrusive landlords. Just because, the land lord owns the house, he has no right to enter into the house without the permission of the tenants. Generally, the landlords have to provide a notice of 24 hours in case he needs to enter into the house for workmen repairmen. In case, students face the problem that landlords often visiting the rented flat without prior consent, it can be considered to be breach of conduct. A case of harassment can be registered in case the landlord seems to visit the rented place on and often without prior permission. In such case, the tenants can directly talk about their discomfort to the landlord or the letting agent. The student can also take help of the department of student services in case such actions do not come up with positive results.

The students can also face problems with respect to repairs. Students can face problem in plumbing damp, electricity and other furniture and appliances like the washing machine that were provided to the students along with the houses, it is the responsibility of the landlord to arrange for repayments. So, if the items require repairmen, the tenants can take a phone call and then email a letter for describing the problem. The email is nothing but a proof of records about the intimidation.

Students must make sure of informing landlord whether there are any rats or mice. However, it must be made aware that the landlord has not much to do with the issue. In case of presence of any hole in the house, through which the rats or mice are coming in and out, the landlord should be informed. The land lord can take up the responsibility of repairing the house like blocking the hole. In fact, the landlord can in turn give advices on how to set traps or poison. However, the students should also make sure of safety aspects. For instance, the house should be kept clean and the food containers should be sealed well in order to keep them away from the unwanted guests.

Conclusion

Staying in a rented accommodation in a foreign land might lead to several problems. Some of these problems are petty like sharing of the corridor with flat mates while others can be serious like issues related to rend payment. The students are therefore needed to be well aware of norms associated with tenancy.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Harris .