Following the release of the Rate Your Landlord Report 2011-12, we're highlighting the specific recommendations made in the report and what your Students’ Union is doing to implement them.

There are 6 key recommendations made in the report and we’re highlighting one of these each week. We've already talked about how greater regulation could help and the awards scheme we're establishing to encourage local property providers to raise their standards.

Improve communication to prospective and current tenants 

The Rate Your Landlord survey highlighted the need to give students looking for somewhere to live in the private rented sector more information about what to look for and what to expect.

Many students who completed the survey, especially those moving into rented accommodation for the first time and students from overseas, were unsure about the process of finding somewhere to live, had no idea of the likely costs involved and were shocked by the generally poor standard of properties available.

There was also very low awareness of the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme (TDPS) with a third of all survey respondents unsure if their deposit had been protected.

The Rate Your Landlord Report 2011-12 acknowledges that it is vital that students are able to make informed decisions when seeking accommodation and therefore recommends that both the University and the Students’ Union take steps to improve communication to prospective and current students on housing-related matters.

It is also hoped that encouraging students to be more discerning customers may also help drive up standards among landlords and letting agents.

Both the University and the Students’ Union already provide a range of information online and run housing workshops for students preparing to move into rented accommodation for the first time. What we aim to do is to promote the information that we already have far more, tailoring it to meet the information gaps identified by the Rate Your Landlord survey and targeting it at those groups of students who need it most at the times when they need it.

Work on this has already started within the Students’ Union and we will also soon be requesting a meeting with key people within the University also to talk about how we can work together to improve the way we both communicate to students on housing issues.

More about the report

You can download the complete report [pdf] or read it online below

For more information about the report and any of the recommendations it makes, contact Indi Hicks, Students' Union Welfare Officer.

Don't forget that our Advice & Representation Centre can provide free, independent and confidential advice on a range of issues including housing.

You can contact us or browse our online housing advice.

Read the report online

Don't forget that our Advice & Representation Centre can provide free, independent and confidential advice on a range of issues including housing.