Arrears
This relates to late rent payment or failure to pay rent on the specified date agreed in your tenancy agreement.
Assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs)
These are tenancies created after 28 February 1997. ASTs apply to a property for which you pay rent and where your landlord does not reside.
Break-clause
This relates to a term in your tenancy agreement allowing both parties to end the tenancy before the due date. Although this may be beneficial to the tenant, ending a tenancy early has to be agreed by the landlord.
Eviction
This can be a complex area in which a landlord can request through the courts to have an order directing a tenant to leave the landlord’s premises. There are specific procedures that need to be followed before a tenant can be evicted and trying to evict someone illegally is protected by law under the Prevention from Eviction Act.
Harassment
Harassment can take the form of phone calls, unannounced visits, cutting off utility supplies, such as gas or electricity and intimidation.
Holding deposit
These are used by the landlord or estate agent to secure a property for you before the tenancy has been signed. They form an agreement for both parties to act on following through to the tenancy agreement.
Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
This is a check list used by the council’s private sector housing team to ensure that properties are safe and to assess any potential health and safety dangers which could occur.
Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) Houses which have five bedrooms and go across three floors require a licence issued by the council to landlords and are subject to HHSRS checks.
Inventory
An inventory is a detailed list produced by the landlord or agent which states the condition and age of various items in the rental property such as cookers, chairs and carpets. It should also list items which are present, even down to the number of hooks on the walls. The inventory is an important way of clarifying at the end of the tenancy whether any items have been damaged or are missing.
Joint tenancy agreement
If all the students living in the property sign one agreement with the landlord at the time of moving in, this forms a joint tenancy agreement. All the tenants have exactly the same rights and are all equally responsible for paying the rent and keeping to the terms of the agreement. If one tenant is not paying the rent or causing other problems you could end up having to pay her/his share, or any other costs.
Landlord
The person who has the legal right to let the property. Landlords also collect rent for the property and are responsible for ensuring that the property is in working order.
Letting agents
These act on behalf of the landlord and can have responsibility for collecting rent, dealing with repairs as well as undertaking reference checks and regular maintenance checks.
Notice
This is the amount of time that your landlord gives you or that you give your landlord before ending a tenancy. Landlords normally have to give two months and tenants one month. However, this can vary dependent on the condition of the tenancy agreement and therefore it is important to seek advice if you are unsure.
Private sector
This consists of housing which is owned by private landlords rather than the council or housing associations.
Subletting
This means that the person who entered into the tenancy agreement will be renting out part, or in some cases, all of their accommodation for a set period of time. This can only happen if the landlord allows it.
Tenancy agreement
Private sector tenants are given a legally binding agreement (usually in writing) to confirm the rights and responsibilities of both parties in contract.
Tenancy deposit scheme
This came in to affect in April 2007 and is relevant to any tenancy agreement that was entered into after this point. The scheme places your security deposit either in the hands of a third party insurer (known as the custodial scheme) or it is initially held by the landlord who insures the deposit and in case of dispute the deposit is handed over to a third party until the dispute is resolved (this is known as the insurance-based scheme).
Unihomes: university-managed accommodation
The university leases a number of properties from private owners which it rents to students. These houses are usually 4–5 bedroom properties located close to campus sites. These are sometimes available to summer house hunters via Studentpad.
Wear and tear
During a tenancy, the condition of a property is likely to change as tenants make ‘reasonable use of the premises’, for example, wear to the carpets in rooms. Most landlords will not make a charge to the tenant for fair wear and tear. This is however distinguished from excessive wear and tear, for example, where the tenant has caused cigarette burns in the carpet. Compensation from the tenant in these circumstances will be sought by the landlord.
