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2nd year accommodation

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
First off, do people generally pay more or less for where they live in their 2nd year compared to the uni accomodation in the first?

Second, is it normal to have to pay £800+ BEFORE you even move in to your house?

i'm having to pay some bs fees and it feels like i'm being ripped off so i just wanta check what other people generaly pay...

im paying (approx). £130 "admin fees" £400 damage deposit, £280 summer rent (we're not allowed to move in over summer), so i've paid over 800 quid before i actually move in in september (and at that time i will have to pay september rent and go from there.

I'm not exactly well informed in the housing industry so I thought i'd better ask people with experience... is this a normal type thing to have to pay?
Post edited by JustV on
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Its costing me less to live out than in halls, but that was partly as i was in fully catered, en suite halls which cost a small fortune (seemed a nice idea at the time!) I now pay £200 a month and over the summer our landlord said we had to pay half rent for the 2 months when we weren't living there as a retainer which seemed fair. We went with a private landlord rather than an agency so didn't have any admin fees so i'm not sure there. We had to pay a damage deposit but it was only £100. So, before i moved in i ended up paying £300. £800 does seem a lot but i guess it would be betetr to ask other student sin the area what they are paying as some areas are obviously more expensive to live than others. Summer rent/retainer is usual tho, as is a damage deposit, andi guess the amount of damage deposit you pay is up to the landlord - just look after the house so you get it back again!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's going to cost me more to live out of halls in my second year than my first year in halls. My halls is en suite self catering.

    My house contract starts in October, so I don't have to pay any rent over the summer, however it catches up with us because we'll have to pay for it through the summer after we finish our last year. So far we've each paid £250 as a deposit/holding fee, and then in October we have to pay the estate agent's fees and a month's rent in advance. Something like that anyway. My housemate is dealing with most of it, I just smile sweetly and sign where they tell me.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Apart from the fees, the rest is reasonable. A deposit is normally a month's rent.

    You only pay fees if you go through a letting agency, who it's fair to say make a killing from gullible students.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    it isn't a point of being gullible, i made complaints at the time... but i was in no position to refuse seeing as i have never rented a house before.

    i'm sure you were born with infinite wisdom but some of us dont have that luxury :/
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    muse- wrote:
    im paying (approx). £130 "admin fees" £400 damage deposit, £280 summer rent (we're not allowed to move in over summer),
    paying a retainer over the summer is normal - but you should be getting something for your money: either you should be able to stire your belongings in the room or should be able to stay over the summer period.
    a deposit is normal and as has been said is normally equivelent to about 1 months rent. £400. for student accomodation imo seems a bit high, but it depends on what area of the country you are in. (e.g. in staffordshire, where i am, no landlord would expect a student to pay more than about £300 as deposit.)
    admin fees, generally are not charged by private landlords. they are usually charged by universities, student housing letting agencies, etc. - but i guess it is not unheard of.
    and tbh £800. imo is excessive. and if i were you, i'd rent of a different landlord or try for halls again for your 2nd year.
    hope that helps a bit. :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    For the place where i rent for uni i payed a £200 bond, an thats it just the rent then, i didnt pay for the summer before hand. The admin fees sound shite
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    hmm it does ty

    ETA: I think it's too late to change letting agency and reorganise accommodation...

    this really really pisses me off though as i have no money for summer (i cant actually even afford the 800 im 100 short atm :/)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sounds like a complete rip off to me, why do you have to pay rent over summer if you can't even live there?

    I paid half rent through the summer and lived there when I was a student.

    I wouldn't use an agent, I would go to a landlord direct.

    Renting privately should be cheaper than halls, but if you choose to live in an amazing house in a nice area, it may be more expensive.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i shouldn't think it would be too late to find a new landlord. so long as you haven't signed your contract yet.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ergh i have signed :(

    can't concentrate on revision at all now, i hate getting ripped off :|

    thanks for the replies.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i've always lived in a house but i know some places near me (student halls) charge £80+ a week. in the house i've lived in we paid £45 rent a week but that was without gas and electric. that never really amounts to much though - certainly not £40 a week!! the house i'm moving into next year is £55 a week with all bills and broadband.

    i paid a £200 deposit and pay rent september-june. i've lived in the same house for the last 2 years and they didn't charge us rent over the summer and we were allowed to live there.

    the house i'm moving into next year is with a letting agency and you don't pay a deposit but i'll start paying rent in august.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ive always gone directly to the landlord to avoid agencies, a few of my friends got bably ripped off so i avoid them like the plague! The 130 odd quid tho doesnt seem too excessive from what ive heard. My rent is £230 per month but thats very cheap for round here, we had to pay full rent over the summer but we could do what we wanted with the house, live there/store stuff there etc which was cool. As your paying half rent tho you should at least have some form of access to the property, whether for storage or whatnot. And yeah the 400 deposit does sound a little steep, for me its always been one months rent or rounded up/down to the nearest £100
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think you have been ripped of, its normal to pay bonds and agency fees and summer rent etc. It all depends on where you live aswell as the the price.

    My normal payments are

    Agency fee (none if you dont use agency) £70
    Bond (1 month rent + £50) £275
    Cheque for summer rent £112.50 for 2 months

    Total £575 ish

    So maybe you are paying a bit to much......

    Bopz
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    hmm... ours is like £360 a month (not including bills)... the house isnt even that nice.. (though it is south east i guess stuffs more expensive there). I'm gonna ring them up tommorow and ask a few questions
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    what's a bond?

    and i'm with a letting agency and don't pay any fees.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you're having to pay for a room when you're not allowed in it something isn't right. I had to pay agency fees, damages deposit and a months rent in advance.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you're having to pay for a room when you're not allowed in it something isn't right.


    i know someone who has to pay half rent over much of the summer but isn't allowed to live there.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    £360 a month sounds a lot even for the south east, unless of course you're in central london. Our landlord charged us half rent over the summer if we weren't living there, or full rent if we wanted to live there which i think is fair. If you're paying full rent over the summer, I would expect to be able to live there!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Actually yes, £360 a month is a lot. My next year house is a 1 bedroom apartment that I'm sharing with my partner, and its only £340 a month each. And thats in Oxford.

    I never knew about paying rent if you didn't live there, it seems like an odd concept to me.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    muse- wrote:
    it isn't a point of being gullible, i made complaints at the time... but i was in no position to refuse seeing as i have never rented a house before.

    i'm sure you were born with infinite wisdom but some of us dont have that luxury :/
    I wasn't suggesting you were gullible but, as you point out, this was your first time renting so you didn't know what to expect. What you are paying is not unreasonable, but of course now you that going through an agency often means an admin or arrangement fee. I don't see what the complaint is really.

    On the half rent thing - it is a rip off but if you're living there it's not unreasonable to expect to pay full rent. Landlords charge half rent because demand is sufficient to allow them to do so. And you pay for him to look in on the property, do repairs and decorations and for somewhere to store your stuff for 3 months.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Actually yes, £360 a month is a lot. My next year house is a 1 bedroom apartment that I'm sharing with my partner, and its only £340 a month each. And thats in Oxford.

    I never knew about paying rent if you didn't live there, it seems like an odd concept to me.


    That's well expensive moonarcanum! I pay £370 a month for a one bedroomed flat in total.

    Yeah I would personally never pay rent if I wasn't living somewhere, what's the point?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'll be paying half as much in my flat in 2nd year as I did in my first year. The halls at Edinburgh are so freakin extortionate it's not even remotely funny. Miserly bastards.

    Anywho, we gotta pay at deposit of £625 each for the flat we want, but it's stunning and totally worth it. Besides, we'll get that all back at the end. However, we're doing this privately (ie, not through an agency) so we don't have to pay any admin fees or shiz.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    helps a lot to see other people's situations... im gonna go see them in a few days and ask some pressing questions :P I think they rip students off thinking theyre all rich and getting paid by their parents :/

    bastards.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    PussyKatty wrote:
    That's well expensive moonarcanum! I pay £370 a month for a one bedroomed flat in total.

    I know. But our current place is £750 for 2 of us, and is falling apart. The new place is £680 and really nice. Park of it is paying for the complex its in, and the fact that its secure and has its own parking space and stuff.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In my first year I paid around £60 per week to live in halls.

    Now, I'm paying £71 per week. I had to put down a £200 deposit and a reservation fee of £126. This includes all bills except broadband.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    muse- wrote:
    helps a lot to see other people's situations... im gonna go see them in a few days and ask some pressing questions :P I think they rip students off thinking theyre all rich and getting paid by their parents :/

    bastards.

    Exactly! I think that, maybe especially in Edinburgh, they assume we're all rich royalists.

    Bastards.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I payed more per month for halls, but that included bills, I think what I payed in the second year (including bills) was on par with it, if not a bit less.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My halls were/ are a lot cheaper than the flat I lived in last year.
  • JsTJsT Posts: 18,268 Skive's The Limit
    I'm staying in halls again. Better halls and still cheaper and closer to Uni. Can't be bothered with all this house shit, sounds like too much work.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It is too much work faffing around with houses. I don't have the option of staying in halls for second and third year though as ours are first years only, unless I become a warden and theres no way I'm doing that.
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