What does the area offer for student accommodation?

Bristol, Bath, Swansea and Plymouth have a wide variety of student accommodation ranging from single rooms to houses for seven or more. Their rental prices range from approximately £60 to £150+ per week, depending on location and quality. They are owned by both private owners and larger companies, most coming in the form of self contained houses. There have recently been some quite major developments, converting old office blocks into large student buildings, with many tens of single room flats, similar to the halls of residences. However these tend to be very small "rabbit hutch" style rooms, and students who want a bit more room find it better to move into a proper student house. The accepted norm is for students to go into the Universities' own halls of residence in the first year, and then move out into private houses for the second year onwards, although increasingly some students are just "doing their own thing"

What are the usual areas for student rental?

Bristol University students prefer to rent property in Clifton, Redland, Cotham and St Andrews. Students from UWE tend to rent properties across the city, but mainly in Filton, Fishponds and Horfield.

In Bath students from both universities tend to rent property all over the city, but the main areas are Combe Down, Odd Down, the city centre and Lower Weston.

The two main areas that Swansea students usually opt for are Brynmill and Uplands, although areas adjacent to these are receiving increasing attention in recent years.

Plymouth students generally live in areas such as Mutley, North Hill, Greenbank, The Hoe, Lipson, North Road East/West, Pennycomequick, Millbridge, Peverell and St Judes, although areas further out are becoming increasingly popular.

What should you expect as tenants?

What you get will obviously vary from landlord to landlord: some landlords offer a high quality, well maintained service, others don't. If at all possible, when viewing a prospective house, you get the opinion of the current tenants. Ask how quickly the landlord responds to maintenance issues. Try an pick a house that will suit your needs: if you want a cheap house to have plenty of wild parties and never clean up, don't go for a landlord that requires the place to be kept clean and tidy.

Very importantly, READ THE CONTRACT. If you miss something when signing up, you're going to have to live with it. As a tenant you have many rights, but bear in mind that with rights come responsibilities. It is your responsibility to ensure you keep to the terms of the legally binding contract you have signed. Some of the usual pitfalls that tenants fall foul of are paying the rent on time and check out procedure at the end of the tenancy. Make sure you are fully aware of when your rent is due, particularly if you are paying on a termly basis. Also make sure you book an appointment to check out when you finally leave your accommodation, or deposit repayment may become complicated.

What documentation can I ask the landlord for?

All landlords must by law have a current gas safety certificate relevant to the property. They must also have provided you with the government's "how to rent" booklet.

In addition, as options, you can also ask whether there is a current fire equipment inspection certificate, a NICEIC certificate (for electrical safety lasting five years) and whether there is an HMO licence (where applicable).

Are the landlords on this site reputable?

OK, here's the legal bit: Studylets.com is solely an advertising portal for landlords, and can accept no responsibility for advertisements placed on the site, or any claims made herein. Whilst every effort is made to provide accurate details, no responsibility can be accepted if details are inaccurate or out of date. Verifying the facilities or attributes of the houses advertised on this site remains your sole responsibility. Having said that, we take this business very seriously, and want only reputable landlords to advertise here: any advertisements found to be deliberately misleading will be removed. Put simply, use this site as a guide, and check everything before you sign up. If you find an advert misleading in any way, or if you spot any errors, please contact us immediately by mailing and we will investigate.

Financial information

For information on student loans, click here and for information on bank accounts, click here.