It might seem like there’s a lot to take on board, but with a little planning you can get the serious stuff out of the way and relax. Below you’ll find everything you need to know about finding a place to live in London.
Finding flatmates
As a student in an expensive city, the likelihood is that you’ll prefer to share a flat or house rather than live in a bedsit, which can be a lonely experience. Obviously the more of you there are the cheaper the bills and possibly the nicer the property (bigger living space, a garden) however consider things like all five of you needing to use the bathroom at the same time in the mornings. If you’ve already got friends to move in with then perfect, if not, there are plenty of places to look for flatmates, and hundreds of people in exactly the same situation as you.
Don’t leave finding accommodation till September; if you want to live in halls find out from your Uni when is the soonest you can apply, this could be as early as May. For other accommodation you normally won’t be able to arrange anything until a month or so before moving in.
The best places to start looking are Gumtree and Craigslist, check out local newspapers and Loot; you could also place an ad yourself. Your Uni might also be able to advise you on housing, and keep your eye out for ads on the notice boards. If you’re disabled have a look here for help with rented accommodation www.drc.org.uk/.
Be aware
Estate agents are notorious for underhand tactics; make sure you’ve thoroughly checked out the place before you agree to anything. They are also more expensive than renting privately as they add their own commission on top of the rent.
Of even more concern are the agencies that charge you a registration fee, usually in the region of £70-£90 to put you on their books and match you to suitable properties. Once the registration fee has been paid they either offer you properties which are substantially different to what they originally said they had or they don’t contact you at all. I was lured into joining a certain agency located just off the Kensington High Street because of the numerous ‘studio flats’ around West London for only £120 including bills they had advertised. These turned out to be tiny, dirty rooms with a kitchen and bathroom shared amongst 10 others, for £150 a week, without bills. You may come across these agencies advertising on Gumtree or Findaproperty.com but they are most definitely not legit, stay well away. \n\nThe legal bit
Read over your tenancy agreement before you sign it, or get someone to look it over. If you need more info about tenancy agreements, have a look here www.tenancyagreementservice.co.uk
You’ll be asked to pay a deposit, usually the equivalent of a months’ rent before you move in. This is refunded at the end of your stay as long as nothing has been damaged, and this includes things like wine stains on carpets, cigarette burns, broken lampshades…Bear in mind that anything that’s broken will come out of your deposit, so as boring as it may be it’s a good idea to cover up sofas with throws and store away any delicate furniture or objects; landlords tend to furnish their properties as cheaply as possible therefore it’s likely a lot of things will be easy to break.
Make sure you go through the inventory your landlord gives you as soon as you move in and if anything is broken or damaged in any way let them know. Even mention if something is dirty, stained or covered in dust, you’ll be grateful when the time comes to move out.
Student areas
Of course central London is the most desirable place to be, but unless you’re armed with a trust fund it may prove difficult to live there. You might want to live close to your University but again, if this is located in W1 it might be an impossibility. Even though you’ll be paying more in travel costs it’s likely that this will still be cheaper than living closer to Zone 1.
There are areas in Zone 2 which are more affordable and attract many young people and students; look around Hackney, Finsbury Park, Bow, and Kilburn. South London areas like Peckham and Lewisham have cheaper properties though there’s no tube; Brixton and Clapham are also fairly affordable. Despite what you may hear about some of these areas they are no less safe than most of London, Brixton in particular is becoming more and more gentrified. As with anywhere else, just use common sense. \n\nWhat you will pay
There are other things to consider aside from your rent. If your course is full time (21 hours or more) then you don’t need to worry about paying council tax. If you’re living with people who aren’t in full time education, then council tax will apply to them, however each full time student is excluded from paying. You then need to work out whether you will share the cost of the council tax between you or whether those that aren’t students will pay for it. The rate depends on the size of the house and the area you live in, and you should inform the council once you’ve moved in to avoid a hefty bill six months later. They can be pretty ruthless and they’ve been known to send people court summons without any warning. Don’t panic if you get one of these, simply call them up and together you should be able to work out a payment plan if you can’t pay it all in a lump sum. However the best advice is to sort it asap and pay it on a monthly basis.
Factor in the cost of bills; will you pay these monthly, or every three months? Will you take it in turns to collect the money from each person and pay at the post office, or will you each pay separately by phone or online? As a very rough guide per household you should factor in £30 per month for each of gas and electricity, £20 per month for water and £10 per month for your TV license.
Then there’s also the cost of things for the household, i.e. cleaning products, furnishings, etc. It’s worthwhile devising some sort of rota, perhaps take it in turns to buy what’s needed, or split the cost each time.
