The Studentcircle House Hunting Guide

1. Pick your housemates carefully, especially if this is your first time renting shared accommodation. In most circumstances landlords will ask groups of students to sign a joint contract which will make you all responsible for each other's rent and any damage caused to the property. 

2. Decide where you want to live and what budget you can realistically afford. You may need to pay a deposit now and later a retainer to hold the property until September. Damage deposits should be held in a government approved Tenancy Deposit Scheme and your landlord is obliged to notify you with 14 days of the scheme in which the deposit has been secured. A retainer is a non refundable charge that some landlords charge but it does not usually give you any rights to live in your new home over the summer period. 

3. Don't rush in. The myth that you must have everything sorted by a certain date is exactly that – a myth! You can look for your new home at a time that suits you and there is always good quality accommodation available at the start of the next academic year.

4. Have realistic expectations about where you want to live. There are very few large traditional houses located in the City Centre. The majority of accommodation available in the City Centre is found in the larger student development units with a limited number of one and two bedroom flats dispersed across the City. The choice of accommodation on the outskirts of the ring road are in a fairly large supply