Byron Lofts, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Property laws are different outside of the UK. This means that it is not possible for your guarantor to be based elsewhere.

If you do not have a UK based guarantor, you can either use housinghand which will act as a guarantor on your behalf or you can pay all of your rent in one annual upfront payment.

No, there are no fees and no deposits to pay. The £200 holding retainer paid to reserve your property will be deducted from your first month’s rent.
For a limited time only, the holding retainer for propertys in Stoke and Keele has been reduced to £10.

They request that all tenants pay rent via Direct Debit. However, payment can be made over the phone, via their website, bank transfer or standing order. Please note there may be a 72 hour delay from making the payment to the payment showing on your tenant portal. They accept Mastercard and Visa.

In order to exit your contract you will need to find a replacement tenant to take your room, but only if there is more than 6 months remaining on your contract. The rest of your group will need to agree to this person. Once this is done they can reissue a new contract for everyone to sign. Until the new contract is signed by all parties all Tenants, all Guarantors and the Landlord you are legally contracted and obliged to pay your rent.

Make an enquiry on the property website and book a viewing using their online booking platform.
All people viewing a property must wear a mask and santisie their hands before entering the property and on departure. All attendants must adhere to social distancing and avoid physical contact with surfaces, furnishings and personal belongings in the property.

Your group will only have the house once all the tenancy details forms have been completed, a contract has been sent out, all tenant and guarantors have signed, all remaining retainers have been paid and all identification for tenants and guarantors received. Then the landlord will contract the property and you will be notified of this by email.

They have no admin fees They’re unnecessary, dated and stop you from getting the most for your money.

After paying the holding retainer they ask you to fill out a tenant details link that they email over to your whole group. When this is done they send out the tenancy agreement via email.

You will be sent your tenancy agreement via email. There are clear instructions when you open the document, please ensure you sign your first and last name no initials.

Joint and several liability means that both individually and jointly all of the tenants are individually and jointly responsible for paying rent and for all other tenants’ responsibilities during the tenancy.

Do not sign the agreement if you do not understand. On page 3 of the contract there are definitions that should help explain anything that is not clear. You can also give us a call or email. Your university should be able to advise you if there is anything you need clarifying.

After signing your agreement online it will automatically send them a copy so there is nothing you need to do apart from sign.

Your holding retainer reserves the house for 3 working days. In this time you will need to fill in your tenancy form and upload your documents. You will then be sent the tenancy agreement.

You call the office to pay one £200 holding Retainer. This reserves the property for you and gets the ball rolling. The holding retainer is non-refundable but is deducted from the first month’s rent of the person who paid it. Each of the other members of the house will also need to pay a £200 holding retainer within 2 days after the tenancy agreement is signed.

Here are some quick points that can prevent pests:
· Try and make a habit of cleaning up immediately after meals. Wash all dishes, wipe down tables or counters, and store leftovers in airtight containers. Cleaning up quickly prevents pests from making their way onto dirty dishes or uncovered foods.
· When possible, buy food that comes in cans or jars. Pests like insects and rodents can easily chew through plastic, paper and cardboard.
· Keep more food in the refrigerator or freezer. Few insects and rodents can make their way into these appliances some food lasts longer when cool.
· ALWAYS CLEAN! The kitchen needs to be cleaned more often than other areas of the home. Even the tiniest of crumbs can attract pests. Be mindful of brushing away crumbs and sanitising tables and countertops after any type of food prep. Sweep away anything that hits the floor.
· Take out the rubbish as soon as it’s needed. Allowing rubbish to sit in the kitchen only invites pests over for dinner. Keep your cabinets clean. It is important to inspect your cabinets regularly for exposed food, crumbs or signs of a pest invasion.

Tumble dryers need to be emptied of fluff on a regular basis, not emptying this will cause the unit to overheat and not work correctly. Here is a general video on how to unblock the filters.

Condensation mould forms when there is too much moisture in the air and it hits a cold surface.
If the mould reoccurs after you have removed it and you are not drying clothes inside.

There will be an isolation switch outside the bathroom – please ensure this is turned on before reporting as maintenance.

If your shower is blocked do not continue to shower with it running over the top, as this will cause a leak and damage to the house. You need to unblock showers regularly and ensure the plug is free from hair.

This often happens when the door is attempted to be opened before the door has unlocked after the cycle. Always wait 5 minutes before trying to open the door. If this is the case and it has been forced open this may be something that will require repairs that they may not cover the cost of. Sometimes, the washing machine will have a drain function, so please use this if possible before opening the door using a piece of string. Refer to this video for a tutorial on this temporary fix/ to get your trapped closed.

Please ensure that you are disposing of your household waste correctly and putting it out on the correct day preferably the night before as this ensures collection, a lot of students aren’t up at 9 am. You can search online when collection days are/what you can and can’t put in each bin. This is important as the council reserve the right to refuse collection if the rubbish is disposed of incorrectly If you think you need more council bins, please let them know and they can put in a request. You can find information on bin collections on your council website.

Always listen to the most recent email. Unfortunately, their maintenance team may have to attend to emergency problems which can take priority over your maintenance, hence them rescheduling the visit date.

For general maintenance, reporting it through the Portal will mean that the issue is resolved as quickly as possible for you.

It is important to remember that your energy usage is not unlimited. You will be responsible for any additional costs if you exceed your allowance.

Bank details can be found on their Tenant Portal.

They request that all tenants pay their rent via Direct Debit. All tenants will receive information regarding the set up process once the tenancy agreement is fully signed.

Your yearly rent is calculated as your weekly rent times 52 weeks, divided by 12 payments monthly or 4 payments quarterly.

Some properties may have electricity and gas included, please refer to their viewing booking platform link sent to you after submitting an enquiry or speak to the team for further information.

If you have paid them a retainer, and your rental payments are set up via Direct Debit, your retainer will automatically be deducted from the first rental instalment. If you are paying your rent via an alternative method, you must deduct the retainer amount from your first rental instalment.

You can still live in your property until the end of your contracted period, however you will become liable for council tax during this time.

Please give them a call and they will work with you to find the best way in which to pay your rent. Alternatively, you can email. All rent is due in advance.
Please note, if your payment is more than 14 days late and they have not heard from you, then as per your contract, late payment charges may be applied to your account.

Yes, payment plans can be changed to monthly, quarterly or in line with student loan payments. Please contact them with details of your request and they will get back to you.
Please note the first rental instalment date cannot be altered and 14 days notice minimum is required for any payment plan changes.

They request that all tenants pay rent via Direct Debit. However, payment can be made over the phone, via their website, bank transfer or standing order. Please note there may be a 72 hour delay from making the payment to the payment showing on your tenant portal. They accept Mastercard and Visa.

Your contract will outline the dates on which your rental payments are due. If you believe you will have difficulty paying on these dates or would like to align you rental payments with your student loans. Please note that all tenants will need to pay their first instalment of rent before they can release keys to any tenants on joint contracts.

A new Right to Rent check will need to be completed even if you are renewing your tenancy.

Yes. A new Right to Rent check will need to be carried out even if you are renewing with them.

Yes, an expired Passport is acceptable for the check.

If you have an upcoming tenancy, you will have received at least one email about right to rent check in the email inbox associated with your tenancy. Please search for this email and follow the instructions contained.

If you do not have a Passport, you will need to provide one “Category 1” document or two “Category 2” documents from the Available Documents.