Checking The Landlord
Who is a good landlord?
There are lots of good landlords in Leeds.
First - Visit Rate Your Landlord - a review site where students are honest about their landlord and the property itself.
Second - rent with a Code of Standards Landlord who have agreed to standards above the minimum legal requirements - any problems and you can put in a complaint. See who has signed up and check out what
complaints have been made.
What's the difference between a landlord and an agent?
The landlord owns the property and an agent is someone who normally acts on behalf of the landlord and may do more of the day to day running of the property. They are usually the main point of contact for you as a tenant.
Tenants are entitled to the landlord’s contact details including address and the landlord is still legally responsible for the property. The agent has to give you the landlord’s details within 21 days of your request.
Check your contract to see who you have legally signed with, they will be responsible for carrying out any repairs and returning your deposit. If it is the agent, then they are responsible for looking after day to day repairs, but if there are problems with this, it would be worth letting the landlord know. If your contract has the landlord’s contact details then they are who you need to contact if you need repairs.
What is a Code of Standards?
The code of standards holds landlords who are in these codes to a higher standard than the legal minimum which is required. So they have to meet the basic legal and contractual requirements and further higher standards.
You can check here to see if your landlord has signed up to a code.
The standards your landlord has to meet will depend on which code they have signed.
There are three codes run by Unipol Student Homes, one for shared properties (e.g. house/flat), one for large complexes (e.g. purpose built accommodation that is a similar size to a halls of residence) and one for managing agents (agents who rent on behalf of landlords and have signed up a percentage of their properties with the code).
What these higher standards are depends on which code your landlord is in but generally you can expect:
- The contract will be written in reasonable terms
- The accommodation will be fully equipped and ready for the start date
- Repairs and maintenance will happen within prescribed timescales
- The property will meet high standards of health and safety
- If things go wrong, you can make a complaint to Unipol and get help
For full details of the code for living in a shared property please read here.
If you live in a purpose built student complex have a read here.