Do you view before you rent?

How important is viewing a property to you? What do you usually look out for?

Of course, where do you usually look? Bathroom tiles for example? Would it affect your decision to reserve a room?

Interesting you mention about checking behind sofas, curtains definitely as there could be condensation on the window? What would you consider as really bad? Would you be put off by slight black marks?

Yes, some landlords either try to cover it up or don't check for mould in those places.

I'd be put off by any mould on the walls because that suggests a bigger problem. Around the windows would depend on how bad it was really

Same as above I check for damp, mold and any other sign of the house basically falling apart.

I took a massive risk during my first year and signed for a place none of us had viewed for second year as we left it quite late and were in a rush. The house turned out to be both good and bad. It was actually a very nice building, structurally sound and very good noise insulation. All of the problems we had with that house were not one we could have spotted in a viewing (general landlord was a thieving knob and plumbing issues all completely the landlords fault).

But yeah, I strongly strongly urge no one signs a contract without viewing the property. I have seen and visited some dingy and disgusting student properties that in my personal opinion should be illegal and too much of a health hazard to let.

That's an unpleasant experience but very good advise indeed, that's the problem when you are looking in a hurry - you may oversee things which you wouldn't normally when you had the time?
So did your landlord help you resolve any of the issues you had? What you could do as well is that, you could view the property on a sunny day as well as a rainy day to see if there are any leaks etc?

What would you consider health hazard(s)?

Not really, our previous landlord was very awful. He kept hiring completely unqualified people who were blatantly his mates to come fix the plumbing and of course it just kept breaking.

Yeah I suppose that's an idea but a bit difficult to schedule to be sure it rains that day lol. But you ca check for signs of water damage along the walls and ceilings.

Biggest ones I'd say (apart from obvious house is about to fall down) and mold and damp. People underestimate the affect it can have on your health, especially if like me you have asthma or any other condition which can make you more vulnerable. It also makes the house horrible to live in, clothes never quite dry and every stinks of mold and damp, including you when you leave the house.

That's too bad, were you able to get any support from your university? Would you consider staying at your university hall or private accommodation instead as they should offer you 24/7 support?

Oh dear, that would definitely have an impact on your health? Not to forget to mention that using electrical appliances in a damp house is also very dangerous too!

Absolutely. places look very different in real life. its important to get an idea of dimensions and the surrounding area plus other things photos dont show you, such as noise or neighbours. Its a lot of money to commit an if you get it wrong it cna be an expensive mistake.

Honestly it was all happening right in exam season, we couldn't cope with trying to sort stuff out with our current landlord on top of exams and looking for a new place to live.

No I would no consider living in private accommodation or university hall of that kind. They are always too expensive and the buildings are practically made of cardboard there is so much noise. I will only rent houses.

Yeah, thankfully I've not had a mold problem or anything like that in any rented houses. Though my mum's house back home has mold and damp problems, it's awful.

Hmm, so did you hear from your friends who have stayed in private halls or university accommodation that noise was always an issue? I would have imagined that help is always on hand if you spoke to an accommodation officer if you needed them in an emergency?

Guess you may need to buy a dehumidifier for your house to prevent molds from forming/building up?