Why study at City?

Private Housing

Why look for private accommodation?

Many students prefer to live in private accommodation as this allows them:

Priority for accommodation is given to first year undergraduates and postgraduates which means the majority of returning students and students who apply for accommodation from around July onwards are encouraged to seek accommodation in the private sector due to limited rooms available in halls.

How can City help you find private housing?

City has linked up with www.StudentPad.co.uk which provides an interactive web based facility for private sector accommodation. StudentPad acts as an independant adviser and provider of information on private sector accommodation. The aim of StudentPad is to help students find the right property that is most suited to their needs as quickly and easily as possible.

Private accommodation Workshops

The Accommodation team at City run private accommodation workshops throughout the academic year. The workshop offers practical information and guidance to students intending to live in private sector accommodation.

City University London Accommodation Fair

This is an annual housing event for students looking for accommodation in the private sector. The Accommodation Fair attracts a wide range of exhibitors from local letting agents and private halls of residence to insurance agents who are all available on the day to provide you with a host of information on private sector accommodation.

Private Accommodation Listings

There are useful listings providing contact details for private halls of residence, letting agents, hotels and hostels and a glossary of housing terms. Please note City University London does not formally recommend or endorse the organisations contained within the listings, you are therefore advised to carry out your own research and make judgements as you feel necessary before committiing yourself to a particular property.

Planning your Search

First, think carefully about exactly what you are looking for:

Areas to search for accommodation

City University London is situated in the heart of London and student accommodation close to the University tends to be rather expensive. The London travel zones range from zone 1 (Central London) out to zone 6. There is little accommodation available in Central London for large groups or families and therefore the majority of students will live outside travel zones 1 and 2. 

This Map and List of Postal Districts may be of help to you in working out the distance between the University and the properties that you are viewing in the London area:

Map showing London postal districts

London postal districts

View this interactive website, launched by the Mayor of London last year, which compares rents across the Capital. The site shows visitors the average rents for private accommodation for each postcode area, as well as giving a range of advice for tenants and Landlords in London's private market.

In the past students have lived in the following areas which generally have cheaper rental levels compared to properties located in zone 1. Living in these areas will usually entail 30 to 45 minutes travelling time to the University:

E1 Whitechapel, Stepney

E2 Shoreditch, Bethnal Green

E3 Mile End, Bow

E5 Hackney Central

E8 Dalston

E9 London Fields

E15 Stratford

SW9 Stockwell

SW17 Tooting

Locations near City University London:

EC1 Barbican, Clerkenwell

N1 Islington, Angel, Kings Cross

N4 Finsbury Park, Harringay

N5 Highbury, Canonbury

N7 Holloway

N16 Stoke Newington

NW1 Camden

NW5 Kentish Town

Wherever you decide to live in London there will be positive and negative aspects but it is useful to assess an area by visiting it during the day and at night, by picking up a local newspaper or by consulting friends or other students who have lived in that area before.

Accommodation Costs

Prices for accommodation in London can vary considerably but students should expect to pay between £100 and £180 per week depending on the size of the room, the facilities offered and the area in which the property is located. As a guide students should expect to pay the following towards their living expenses per week:

Some private halls of residence will cost more than this, however the fees usually include utility bills, internet, contents insurance and due to their proximity to City, there would not be travel costs.

Managing your Money

You can calculate your budget using the Student Calculator. Just input your funding and approximate expenditure and it'll work out a budget for you.

There is also information on our Financial Support website regarding Budgeting, Cost of Living and Money Management Tips.

When to Look

The question of when to start looking for accommodation depends on the kind of property you want to live in. If you are looking for a place in an independent student hostel or private hall of residence you may need to apply months in advance. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a flat/house or a room with a resident landlord, you will not normally be able to arrange this more than four to six weeks in advance of moving in. 

You are not advised to enter into a commitment on a property unless you are actually in London and have viewed it first hand. Since you will be competing for properties with lots of students from other London institutions, it would be unwise to leave your search as late as September.

Where to Look

There are many places where you can start to look for accommodation in London, such as message boards, newspapers, websites and letting agents.

Flat sharing message boards

Message boards are very popular with students looking for accommodation or looking to meet new people to share accommodation with. Using an interactive message board is a good way of getting to know your future flatmates before viewing a property or agreeing to a formal contract. 

StudentPad

City University has linked up with Studentpad which provides an interactive web based facility for private sector accommodation. Studentpad acts as an independent adviser and provider of information on private sector accommodation. The aim of Studentpad is to help students find the right property that is most suited to their needs as quickly and easily as possible.  To use StudentPad click here to enter site. You can search the database for available accommodation, view the Message Boards (link located at top of StudentPad page) to find both flatmates and rooms (and can add your own message). Finally you can view Housing statistics showing the average prices in the local areas to the University from the properties advertised on the site.

For more websites to help you find flatmates and shared houses, click on these links: flatmateclick, Spareroom, Easyroommate, Homesforstudents, Zoopla, Pastures-new and gumtree websites. Please note that properties on these websites have not been vetted by City University.

Newspapers, classified advertisements and other sources

Local newspapers can be purchased from local newsagents and free copies may be available in local Libraries. Classified advertisments, usually at the back of the newspaper, contain information on cheap rooms, flats and houses for rent in the local area. Islington Council's local newspaper can be found here.

Loot is a classified advertisement paper and website listing thousands of business and private advertisments across hundreds of categories. Anyone can place an advert through the UK call centre or on www.loot.com, and the advert will appear both online and in the Loot publications. You will find both rooms and whole properties advertised and you will need to be based in London to be able to view them. Loot is a very popular place to advertise and is published three times a week. There are many other websites that allow you to conduct property searches online based on location and price range. Some of these are: Time Out magazine , Homes and Property, Findaproperty, Rightmove, Primelocation and Ukpropertyshop.

Please note that there are lots of different terms used in these papers to describe the various features of the property so please view our helpful Glossary of Terms.

Local supermarkets and newsagents usually allow members of the public to place an advertisement on their notice board or on the shop window. These advertisements are not always up to date, however they are an easy way to advertise and it is possible to find yourself a bargain property.

Letting agents

A letting agent is a UK term used for a middle person through whom an agreement is made between a landlord and tenant for the rental of a private property. The vast majority of private accommodation in London is advertised through a letting agent (also known as an estate agent).

You can register with a letting agent who can keep you updated on current vacancies as well as handle your deposit and rental fees. Most Letting Agents do not charge you for registering with them, however some agents may ask for a small administration fee to cover the costs of arranging a tenancy agreement, but they should not charge you for viewing a property. Good Letting Agents will have a discussion with you to identify your budget, the type of accommodation you require and arrange any property viewings for free.

Please note that many letting agents will first show you properties that have been on their lists for some time so make clear to them exactly what kind of property you are after and keep in regular contact with them so that they keep you in mind when new properties are registered with the agency.

There is a wide choice of letting agents in London you can register with. The vast majority of reputable letting agents are accredited by professional bodies such as ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents), NALS (National Approved Letting Scheme) and the NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents).

Living with UK families

There are organisations such as Homestay, and Hosts International who can arrange for a student to stay with a UK family. You pay a weekly fee to live in a family environment, and can arrange with the family the type of mealplan you prefer.

Word of Mouth

There are a lot of students in their final year who will be leaving their accommodation once their courses finish over the summer. Ask around, you may find the perfect place - and the current students could recommend you to the Landlord, saving time for you and for them.

Viewing Properties

Once you have found a property you are interested in, the next step will be to view it. In this section we will look at the steps you should follow when viewing a property and some of the common problems to look out for. We strongly advise that you should arrange to view private accommodation prior to signing any legal agreement on the property.

Most students start looking for accommodation during the summer period and arrange to move into the property in September.

For every student viewing properties in London the following three items are a must:

You can find an A-Z of London map in bookshops and some newsagents. Oystercards or Travelcards can be purchased from any Underground Station and remember students qualify for discounted travel. You find pay-as-you-go sim-cards for mobile phones in phone shops and some larger supermarkets.

Use journey planners such as Walkit, Upmystreet, Bingmaps and tfl.gov.uk to have a look where properties are, work out travel routes and journey times from the private accommodation to City University.

It is advisable when you view the property, to do so as if you were travelling back from the University. Ask yourself whether you would feel safe walking back to the property late at night?

What to look out for when viewing a property?

It is also important to pay particular consideration to the following features of any property that you view. From the general look of a building you can tell whether the landlord has looked after the property - and you can always ask the current residents about the landlord.

External Features:

Internal Features:

Do not feel pressurised into signing anything immediately - go away and have a think about it, and arrange another visit if necessary.

Tenancy Agreements and Deposits

The tenancy agreement is a contract between you and your landlord. The tenancy agreement gives certain rights to both you and your landlord, for example, your right to occupy the accommodation and your landlord's right to receive rent for letting the accommodation.

You and your landlord may have made arrangements about the tenancy and these will be part of the tenancy agreement as long as they do not conflict with law. Both you and your landlord have rights and responsibilities given by law. If a term in the tenancy agreement gives either you or your landlord less than your statutory rights, that term cannot be enforced.

What is Rent?

In almost all student tenancies, there will be a rent to be paid. Rent is the payment you are bound by contract to make to your landlord for exclusive use of the property you are staying in.

Before moving in, students should check the following:

Deposit and payments

Once you have found a property that you are interested in, you may be required to pay deposit. Most private landlords ask you to pay a deposit to cover any costs caused by damage to the property internally or externally. Also landlords use the deposit to cover any outstanding rental fees.

From time to time the issue of deposits and non-return of deposit by landlords at the end of the agreement is a major source of dispute and friction.

To resolve some of these disputes and disagreements a scheme called the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme (TDPS) was introduced by the Government in April 2007.  This scheme was introduced to significantly to improve tenants' rights and ensures that their deposits are not unfairly withheld. The scheme also provides a service to sort out disagreements about the deposit without going to court.

Tips to help you protect your deposit:

Tenancy deposit protection schemes

You can contact the schemes to find out if your deposit is protected. Each scheme can only provide information about deposits that it is protecting. It will not be able to tell you if your deposit is protected in another scheme.

The custodial scheme is called The Deposit Protection Service. Most small landlords will probably use this scheme. You can contact the scheme by calling 0844 472 7000 or visiting the website at: www.depositprotection.com

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme is an insurance-based scheme, aimed mainly at letting agents. You can contact the scheme by calling 0845 226 7837 or visiting the website at: www.thedisputeservice.co.uk

'Mydeposits' is an insurance-based scheme, aimed mainly at landlords. You can contact the scheme by calling 0871 703 0552 or visiting the website at: www.mydeposits.co.uk or info@mydeposit.co.uk

Directgov

THis is the main website for the UK Government.  More information about tenancy deposit protection can be found at www.directgov.gov.uk

What happens at the end of the tenancy?

You should get your deposit back within ten days if you and your landlord agree about how much you should get back. The way this works and what happens if there is a disagreement, depends on the type of scheme your landlord is using. If there is a disagreement, make sure the landlord and the deposit scheme have your contact details.  If you are staying in a hall of residence, you may have to wait up to 28 days to receive back your deposit.

It is reasonable for your landlord to take money off the deposit to cover, for example, damage to the property or furniture, or missing items which were listed in the inventory.

If you are still not happy, then you can contact the following for more advice:

Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)

The Citizens Advice Bureau gives free, confidential, impartial and independent advice to help you solve problems. To find your nearest CAB, click here.

Council Tax

What is Council Tax?

Council tax is a system of local taxation collected by local authorities. It is a tax on domestic property. Some property is exempt from council tax.

Who has to pay Council Tax?

Usually one person, called the liable person, is required to pay council tax. Nobody under the age of 18 can be a liable person. Couples living together will both be liable, even if there is only one name on the bill. This applies whether the couple is married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership.

If you live in halls of residence, or in a private property where everyone is classed as a full-time student for council tax purposes, you'll be exempt from paying council tax but you will need to provide proof of this in the form of a letter (from either your Department or the Student Centre) and forward this to your local council in order receive this exemption.

The rules are different if you live with someone who is not a full-time student but your household could still get a discount.  Usually, the person living in a property will be the liable person but sometimes it will be the owner of the property who will be liable to pay.

The owner will be liable if:

Contact details for the local Council in Islington are as follows:

Islington Council
222 Upper Street, Islington, London N11Xr
www.islington.gov.uk

If you wish to find information on council tax and other public services in your local area please visit the Directgov home page: www.direct.gov.uk

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO)

These are houses occupied by more than one household and are strictly defined in legislation. We often know them as bed-sits, flat-lets and shared houses.

Under the changes in the Housing Act 2004, there are two types of HMO licensing, Mandatory and Additional.

Mandatory HMO licensing applies to all privately rented property with three or more storeys occupied by five or more people who form two or more households. This would usually include large houses converted into flats or bedsits and blocks of flats. The landlord has to ensure that there are adequate amenities (such as kitchens, toilets and bathrooms) in place for the occupants. A household could be a single person or members of the same family living together. This includes couples and close relatives.

Additional licensing is when a council individually imposes a licence on HMO for which licensing is not mandatory. This may be because of poor management or inadequate amenities in the property.

If there are three or more people living in a flat or building and they are not related, such as a shared student house, the building or flat may be classified as an HMO.

If a property has an HMO licence, the Landlord has these responsibilities:

If you are unsure whether the property you are renting is an HMO or you feel that your house is overcrowded and/or has not adequate amenities for the tenants, you can seek advice from the Citizen's Advice Bureau or your local council.

Rights to Repair

What is Repair?

Repairs are work that is needed to keep the property in good condition internally and externally.

Who is responsible for repairs?

In most cases the landlord is responsible for any repair work that is needed to keep the property in good condition. However, you should check your tenancy agreement for terms of repair which is not covered by the landlord.

In general the landlord is responsible for repairs to: roof, walls, floors, windows, baths, showers, toilets, basins, heating and gas appliances.

Telling your landlord about any repair works needed:

Landlord's Right of Entry

Your landlord does not have right to enter your home without your permission unless it's an absolute emergency. If your landlord wants to come and inspect the property then the landlord needs to provide you with at least minimum of 24 hours notice.

If your landlord agrees to have repair work done in your property, the landlord should carry out all the necessary work without causing disruption to your daily routine. The landlord should also tell you in advance when the work will start and when it is likely to end.  In the event the repair works require you to vacate the property then your landlord will need to find you an alternative accommodation whilst the work is being carried out. 

As a tenant by law you should use the property in a responsible manner. This means ensuring general cleaning is carried out throughout the house. Do not allow your guests to damage the property. If you or your guests cause any damage to the property the landlord can take court action to recover the costs of repair or seek termination of your contact through an eviction order.

If you have written to your landlord regarding a repair but you have not had any response from the landlord or the repair work is not carried out, you can then take the following actions:

You can contact your local Consumer Protection Services who are a part of your local Trading Standards Office in your local borough. Your local Trading Standards Office can investigate your complaints and if necessary they can also take legal action against your landlord. Your local authority will contact your landlord and express your concerns. In some instances the local authority will carry out the work themselves and pass on the charge to the landlord.  For more information on the role of Trading Standards please visit: www.tradingstandards.gov.uk

You can also request an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) to inspect your property. The EHO works within the Environmental Health Service in your local council. This service aims to improve living conditions in the poorest private rented housing in the borough through working in partnership with owners and where necessary by enforcement. The EHO can recommend to your landlord what works are needed and any actions that maybe taken against the landlord if the works are not carried out.  More information can be found at: www.direct.gov.uk

Court Action

If you feel that your landlord is neglecting your request for essential repairs you have the right to take further action through a County Court. Before you decide to take legal action you should seek professional advice from a solicitor.

If you need help to pay for any legal action you may be entitled to Legal Aid to help with the cost of going to court. Legal Aid helps with the costs of legal advice for people who cannot afford to pay for a solicitor or pay for other expert legal advice.

Financial help from Legal Aid depends on:

For more information on Legal Aid please visit: www.direct.gov.uk

You should never withhold your rent or use your rent to carry out repair work yourself. This can lead to more problems which can result in the landlord taking you to court for rent arrears.

Gas Safety

The Gas Safe Register replaced Corgi as the organisation responsible for gas safety in Great Britain from the 1st April 2009.

All landlords are responsible for the safety of their tenants. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 specifically deal with the duties of landlords to ensure that gas appliances, and fittings provided for you are safe to use.

All Gas Safe registered engineers carry a Gas Safe Register ID card. Always check the front and the back of the card before having gas work done. Ensure that you check for the following information on the engineer's ID card:

Landlords must:

You should allow your landlord access to the property to carry out maintenance or safety checks on appliances.

Gas appliances you own should be regularly maintained and a safety check carried out at least once every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered installer. If there is any doubt about the safety of gas equipment it should be turned off and not touched until checked by a Gas Safe registered installer.

What to do in an emergency

If you smell gas or suspect there may be a leak in your property you should act immediately and take the following steps:

If you smell gas and are unsure as to what do then call the Gas Emergency Number on 0800 111 999 or in an absolute emergency call 999.

For more information on Gas Safety visit www.gassaferegister.co.uk

Fire Safety

Partying, smoking and drinking are often part and parcel of a student lifestyle but could put you at a higher risk of fire. Safety awareness should not stop when you get home.

Here are a few tips to ensure your safety in the home:

Your landlord must:

Remember - If a fire starts, get out, stay out and call 999.

Summer Accommodation

The term 'Summer Accommodation' means accommodation available from mid-June to mid-September.

Please note that City University does not have any summer accommodation of it's own, however City nominated Halls Liberty Court and Alliance House both let their rooms independently over this period.  Please contact the Halls directly for information of how to book this accommodation.

There are thousands of Hotels and Hostels in London, and although some are booked by Tourists visiting the Capital, if you plan to stay for long period of time the best option would be to contact the Private Halls of Residence and see whether they have any availability. Many of the Halls will have students wishing to leave early and so will be glad to let the room to another student for the remainder of the licence, or can arrange a short licence for you.

If you plan to arrive in London prior to the start of your licence agreement in Halls (and you are not able to move into the Hall early), or wish to book a room for a few days while you look for private accommodation, then it is advisable to book a room as early as possible in a hotel or hostel.

Please note that due to the Olympics being held in London over Summer 2012 accommodation near the Olympic site may be fully booked.  London has a fantastic transport service and you may find it cheaper to find accommodation away from central London and travel in, or search for hotels located away from the Olympic sites.

Keep Safe - If you are going to view properties arrange for a friend or family member to accompany you, or at least make sure a friend knows where you are going and how long you are likely to be.

Housing for couples and families

There is no accommodation for couples or families at City.  If you are married or have children you are advised to come to London on your own initially until you have found somewhere suitable to live.  Housing staff at the Student Centre will be happy to advise you should you require assistance.  If you require somewhere to stay while house hunting, temporary accommodation may be available for individuals in halls during the summer vacation period, subject to room availability.

There are some housing providers who provide accommodation in London for couples and families.  Please note that these have not been viewed or approved by City University and you would need to contact these housing providers directly for more information: 

www.zebrahousing.com/, www.ish.org.uk/, www.goodenough.ac.uk

Emergency Housing - Homelessness

Sometimes for whatever reason, you may find yourself having to move quickly out of your accommodation.  Firstly ask family, friends and colleagues if you can stay temporarily with them whilst you find yourself alternative housing, however if this is not possible, there are a few options:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/,     http://www.nosecondnightout.org.uk/, http://www.ymca.org.uk/find/ymcas/city-ymca-london.html.