1. Durham Students’ Union & Cuth’s JCR Advice and Help
Stop. Think. Sign.
Welcome and Introduce everyone. Thank you for coming.
The aim of the housing talks is to provide information to you guys in the hope that you can make an informed choice about signing up for a house for the next two years. This can be difficult to contemplate properly when everyone around is rushing to sign up and is worried about missing out, so we just wanted to give you some information to make things easier. The information here is from the Student’s Union with personal information and opinions from your exec.
The presentation should last approx. 20 mins, then I’ll open up the floor for questions for people that would feel comfortable speaking in front of everyone. And then some of the exec will be sticking around to answer any individual questions you may have.

2. Stop Moving out of college accommodation is an exciting time.
Don’t Panic!
Durham is a relatively small city with an abundance of privately rented accommodation.
Most of this accommodation is within a 20 to 30 minute walk away from the main University.
Help is at hand – JCR Welfare Team (Clara, Holly and Hitham) and your Livers-Out Rep (Alex LJ)
The most important thing: the myth that there are not enough houses in Durham is just that – a myth. There is an incredibly large surplus of whole houses and individual rooms in Durham so you don’t need to be worried about finding a house.
You are overwhelmingly likely to get a house within 20 mins of walking from your uni buildings. Compared to other cities, this is very good.
If the conversations going on around housing, or you’re finding anything stressful, there are people here to help.

3. Think There are many key questions to consider
Ask yourself what ‘s important to YOU!
Don’t Sign until you’re ready
Obviously you will sign with others but you should know yourself and your priorities before you enter into group discussion.
Important to remember: this is a legally binding contract that you’re signing for a lot of money. It is important that you make the right decision and the best decision for you.
We will also get students coming to see us who regret their choice of housemates or houses through various reasons, some students will fail their exams and then their re-sits and others will leave for different reasons and so may not be able to take their room in a property. A student may be considering taking a year abroad but won’t know until later in the year but is still considering signing a contract on the basis that if all fails they will be able to find a replacement tenant.

4. Who you live with Deciding who to live with is really important
You have only just met each other
Fill in our questionnaire together so that you are all on board with our THINK elements.
Probably the first thing you’re all thinking about and can be one of the most stressful parts.
Sometimes, not living with your closest friends is better – less stress to argue about, creating wider friendship circles.
Housemate questionnaire questions.
What is your budget? What is the maximum budget? – one of the most important things. If you can’t afford the same amount per week or month, it will continue to be a problem.
Do you have matching ideas about where you want to live? – check this to avoid hurdles or resentment right at the start.
What is your schedule like? – Are you both getting up early in the morning for rowing? Is one of you a night owl and one of you not?
Do you smoke/drink alcohol/eat meat? These can seem small but can lead to some conflicts within houses for some people.
How clean/tidy are they? Does this match with how you like your house to be, can you imagine making a cleaning rota or agreement with these people.
There are others, available in this pile, come and grab one at the end.

5. I don’t think I have met my future housemates yet….
Don’t worry!
Attend your college and Durham SU’s Find a Housemate event;
Durham Find A Housemate Facebook page
Consider other options – living in or private halls;
If you’re worried you can talk to our college support officer, Phil Bolton, or JCR welfare
Only just met each other 5 weeks ago, don’t worry if you haven’t found the right people, or don’t want to live with your flats or friends.
Don’t panic
Find a housemate events will be in the weekly newsletter, for people who haven’t found anyone, or have a pair but want another pair to make a four. (SUNDAY 3RD IN CHADS QUAD).
You can still live in Brooks, or there are private halls popping up around Durham in Nevilles Cross and Gilesgate. Although these can be expensive, they have the benefits of living with others without being responsible for them or the damage they may cause.

6. Location Claypath 10 mins to town 20 mins to Library Viaduct From £100
Gilesgate
15 mins to town
20/30 mins to Library
From £70
Neville's Cross
20/25 mins to town
25 mins to Library
From £70
Next is deciding what area of Durham to live.
These are the main areas – the rents we have included here are majorly guidelines, there is still huge variation within the areas.
They each have their benefits and drawbacks.
Viaduct and Claypath: large student area, mostly terraced houses, expensive due to high demand. Close to town but relatively far from academic areas.
Gilesgate Nevilles Cross: Can be very cheap and very nice houses but quite far from both town and academic buildings. Advantage of being closer to large supermarkets etc.
Elvet area: includes Whinney Hill and Church Street, very expensive but huge benefits of being close to MC and academic buildings. Great for sporty/science people.
Remember: price still varies hugely within the areas so SHOP AROUND.
Elvet
5 mins to town
5 mins to Library
From £110

7. Budget
Important to consider that it is not just rent you will have to pay for:
Food
Socialising
Bills
Academic provisions
Household Items
Do your sums before you commit yourself to a house.
Having decided where you want to live, you will have to decide budget.
There is no point living in a lovely house with your best friends in the world, if you can’t afford to eat or live because you’ve overcommitted yourself with rent.
Important to remember that once you’ve signed a contract you are committing yourself to paying that amount every single month, as well as food, bills, socialising and academic provisions on top.
Bills can vary hugely from house to house, in terms of heating, electricity and water usage: e.g. people who do a lot of sports who are perhaps having two showers a day are going to be using twice as much hot water at twice the cost as people who aren’t – something to consider when choosing a housemate.

8. Bills included/Not included
Bills Not included
You don’t have to worry about your bills
Could work out cheaper
You won’t have to chase each other for payment
You can shop around
However,
You will gain practical life skills
Bills will be charged for every month whether you are in Durham or not
You will be paying more for your bills
A member of your house will have to take responsibility for each bill
Fair usage policy- limits how much you can use
Explain what this means, run through the advantages and disadvantages.
Problems of bills included – inevitably going to spend much more money. Does make it easier, no arguments over bills. Also, can be a limit on them. Heating & hot water are the main costs.
If Bills included: check what bills are actually included – could seem like a good deal when it’s not.

9. Sign
So what do you do when you think you have answered all our questions and done enough thinking?
This is the next step

10. Looking for Houses
Making an informed decision is key: you are a consumer
Shop around.
Attend Durham SU’s Housing Fair which will be taking place on Wednesday 6th December, 12 – 4 pm.
Look online at Letting Agencies websites or ask students in the years above that you know.
Use our checklist.
Don’t just sign for the first house you see. You are the consumer- don’t be pressured by pushy agents and landlords.
Remember: letting agencies get incredibly mixed reviews, and it generally seems to be that every house has a different experience with each team.
Checklist: Location, State of the property, big enough for all of you, the right sized bedrooms, gas and electrical safety certificates, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, maintenance of the garden.
Walk around the areas and have a look, knock on people’s doors and ask them – most are friendly.
A couple of tools that can help.

11.
Explain what it is

12. Durham Council Landlord Assurance Scheme https://www. durham. gov
Might have seen the stickers in some windows: expected to meet a certain standard. A good place to check on landlords standards and what to expect.

13. Contracts Legally binding;
You should be given at least 24 hours to look over your contract before you sign it;
Most contracts are for 12 months!
Joint tenants – by signing a joint contract you are liable for each others rent.
We are unable to check contracts currently but have produced the following online factsheet:
So you’ve found your housemates and the house that you think you want
You are legally bound to that contract with no absolute right to leave.
Landlords and letting agencies should give you at least 24 hours to get your contract checked- if they don’t this is bad practice.
Remember you are almost certainly signing for a year- even if you don’t live there over the Summer.
Explain about lack of SU funding, but put together this handy guide.
Most will be signing a joint tenancy agreement = jointly responsible for all the rent and all the deposits. Obviously scary if someone drops out, is very clumsy and breaks things a lot. Hence why choosing housemates and the house is very important!

14. Deposit and other Fees Be aware of upfront fees
Tenancy Deposit Scheme – a security deposit must be protected by law within 30 days of payment
Details of the scheme used should be in your contract.
Something else to consider in your budget.
Two types of deposit: a security deposit, everyone: usually 1/2months rent to cover damages to property. Should be placed in a protection scheme so that it doesn’t get lost due to landlords spending etc. ASK ABOUT THIS BEFORE SIGNING CONTRACT. Has been the law since 2004 but some of the landlords still don’t know. Ask your landlord what scheme – if they don’t know anything about it, they might giving you a hint that they’re not a good landlord.
If using an agency, some will discuss a ‘holding deposit’, this is a one off fee for them to keep the house for you while you decide whether you want to sign the contact. This is an agency being greedy and not something you need to be paying. Holding deposits (to keep the property for you guys), admin fees, sometimes up to £300 per person. Agent that does this has a lot of the nice properties. No need to pay these fees, lots of places you can go without playing this higher fees.

15. Guarantors
Your parents or guardian may be required to sign as Guarantor for your rental obligations.
They should seek advice
A guarantor must be based in the UK
Usually a parent or guardian who signs a guarantor agreement to pay the rent if you’re unable to.
The SU encourage them to seek advice as the wording of a guarantor agreement could mean they are signing for the financial obligations for the household, not just their own child.
INTERNATIONALS: If you can’t provide a UK based guarantor you may be required to pay a substantial part of your rent up front, sometimes up to 6 months’ worth. Some private guarantor schemes which usually charge
Campaign to make the university a guarantor themselves – not happened yet.

17. Durham Students’ Union Advice and Help Centre
You can contact us via phone us on or come and see us at Dunelm House.
We are here to support you with any housing issues you may have e.g. with your landlord, contract, deposit, repairs etc. so get in touch
NB We are unable to check contracts currently due to changes to our service.
The Advice and Help Centre offers professional, confidential advice on other areas and can support students with academic issues, as well as any personal issues. We can advise you about University’s policies and can signpost if necessary.

18. Stop. Think. Sign
For more information contact Durham Students' Union Advice and Help Centre
Any questions?