The Student Room Group

Private renting for 1st year

So me and my boyfriend are looking to private rent when we start at Nottingham uni in September. (I know huge mistake, will never last blah blah that's not the question I'm asking) reason being I struggle with social anxiety and can't face the thought of living in halls. We are looking to rent a normal property I.e through right move, not a student website, and are not sure when to start looking. Anything we look at now will be long gone by the end of September but we don't know when will be time, we have the funds for a deposit and will probably want to move in the second or third week of September as we are in New York for the first Any advice would be massively appreciated,
Original post by shaunnaob
So me and my boyfriend are looking to private rent when we start at Nottingham uni in September. (I know huge mistake, will never last blah blah that's not the question I'm asking) reason being I struggle with social anxiety and can't face the thought of living in halls. We are looking to rent a normal property I.e through right move, not a student website, and are not sure when to start looking. Anything we look at now will be long gone by the end of September but we don't know when will be time, we have the funds for a deposit and will probably want to move in the second or third week of September as we are in New York for the first Any advice would be massively appreciated,


You might be best going for a private hall - these often come with bedsits/small flats rather than en suite rooms with a shared kitchen so you should be able to find something soonish that you could move into in September. Plus they tend to be fairly well connected/in the right areas for student transport etc without being a standard "halls" environment.

Generally the students in these places tend more towards international or mature students so although you have fellow students as neighbours it's a much less intense environment.

HOWEVER as with any landlord - be careful. Check the notts SU website for recommendations for private halls and check through TSR and online for bad reviews/experiences. Some companies are complete ********s.
Reply 2
Original post by PQ
You might be best going for a private hall - these often come with bedsits/small flats rather than en suite rooms with a shared kitchen so you should be able to find something soonish that you could move into in September. Plus they tend to be fairly well connected/in the right areas for student transport etc without being a standard "halls" environment.

Generally the students in these places tend more towards international or mature students so although you have fellow students as neighbours it's a much less intense environment.

HOWEVER as with any landlord - be careful. Check the notts SU website for recommendations for private halls and check through TSR and online for bad reviews/experiences. Some companies are complete ********s.


Thank you! I forgot to add, I'm at UON whereas my boyfriend will be at NTU, so I don't know if we'd be able to go for private halls together
Reply 3
Also, are private halls not a lot more expensive (they charge per person)? Another reason we were thinking of going for a normal property, we both drive and don't mind a twenty min commute to save some money
Original post by shaunnaob
Thank you! I forgot to add, I'm at UON whereas my boyfriend will be at NTU, so I don't know if we'd be able to go for private halls together


Private halls have no requirements other than you both being full time students :smile: They aren't controlled by the universities, but private companies.

Private halls would also be a lot better, as you will probably struggle to find somewhere this late in the year, most places will have been taken by those moving into 2nd and 3rd year already. Also in private halls you may be able to get contracts that are september- June. Most houses/flats you rent will want July-July
Original post by shaunnaob
Also, are private halls not a lot more expensive (they charge per person)? Another reason we were thinking of going for a normal property, we both drive and don't mind a twenty min commute to save some money


Although you drive, parking for students is often extremely limited for those who don't have a physical disability. Nottingham say that those who have an address within 15 miles of University Campus will not be granted a parking permit, so you'd have to live very far out or risk being able to find a space on nearby roads or get public transport anyway.

At Nottingham Trent for the Clifton Campus you'd need to be living outside the Nottingham area (so not anywhere with an NG postcode) to qualify for a parking permit, otherwise you couldn't park during usual university hours. For the main site the parking policy isn't up for some reason, but I can't imagine in a city centre site it would be any more lenient.
I would look at private halls as a compromise, as they're not connected to a uni the fact you're at different unis wont matter, you just have to be a student... some have studios for couples to share... and they are likely to still be cheaper than a private rental once you take into account bills, summer etc

in answer to your question, start looking 6-8 weeks before I would say
Reply 8
We've priced it up and it turns out private renting will be much cheaper than private halls even including bills. We don't have the option to move home during the summer as both of us will have to work in order to simply afford uni (both of us have high earning parents who will not be supporting us financially so we aren't getting a huge maintainence loan) luckily my boyfriend will be very well paid as he is a manager at Iceland and I should be on about £8 an hour if I manage to transfer. So I ask again, when should I start looking at properties
Original post by shaunnaob
We've priced it up and it turns out private renting will be much cheaper than private halls even including bills. We don't have the option to move home during the summer as both of us will have to work in order to simply afford uni (both of us have high earning parents who will not be supporting us financially so we aren't getting a huge maintainence loan) luckily my boyfriend will be very well paid as he is a manager at Iceland and I should be on about £8 an hour if I manage to transfer. So I ask again, when should I start looking at properties


Hmmm, just be very very careful as the private renting sector is a whole different kettle of fish. Make sure you get your contract independently checked for wherever you like, as some landlords will take full advantage of you guys being young and rip you off. If you are adamant on this start searching NOW. Most the nice housing aimed at students will be gone now, and other landlords may not be willing to do a 12 month contract. The sooner you get the ball rolling the better, because it gives you chance to view a number of properties. Just be warned, that a lot of contracts will probably want you to start paying rent from the month commencing 1st July 2016.
Reply 10
Original post by IfOnlyItWereEasy
Hmmm, just be very very careful as the private renting sector is a whole different kettle of fish. Make sure you get your contract independently checked for wherever you like, as some landlords will take full advantage of you guys being young and rip you off. If you are adamant on this start searching NOW. Most the nice housing aimed at students will be gone now, and other landlords may not be willing to do a 12 month contract. The sooner you get the ball rolling the better, because it gives you chance to view a number of properties. Just be warned, that a lot of contracts will probably want you to start paying rent from the month commencing 1st July 2016.

I'm not sure if we will only need a 12 month contract, if somewhere is nice I'm happy to commit to longer e.g. The full three years. A friend of mine has just gone through rightmove and rented as a normal for the past 3 years and has saved an absolute fortune! We've been looking and keep seeing places we like but obviously they'll all be taken come September so it's hard - a few local letting agents have our details and requirements on hand and have told us we are better off just picking out a few areas for now and leaving the specifics to July or even August. It's just mega stressful because everyone is finalising their halls already
Reply 11
Hey Shaunnaob,

Me and my boyfriend are looking at doing the same thing (although not in Nottingham). We've already started looking now and have come to the decision that when we see some thing we like we're going to go for it, albeit moving a bit earlier than expected. I think this way there will be less stress, you'll have somewhere you're both happy with and if you do move earlier than it just means you'll have a few weeks(or months?) to settle and get to know the area (and find the good pubs!). All the letting agents we have spoken to have said it usually takes between 4-8 weeks from viewing a property to moving in...

Good luck!
Reply 12
Original post by Katy312
Hey Shaunnaob,

Me and my boyfriend are looking at doing the same thing (although not in Nottingham). We've already started looking now and have come to the decision that when we see some thing we like we're going to go for it, albeit moving a bit earlier than expected. I think this way there will be less stress, you'll have somewhere you're both happy with and if you do move earlier than it just means you'll have a few weeks(or months?) to settle and get to know the area (and find the good pubs!). All the letting agents we have spoken to have said it usually takes between 4-8 weeks from viewing a property to moving in...

Good luck!


Thank you so much! You'll have to let me know how you get on.. Unfortunately we have holidays booked and can't really afford to move any earlier than the second week of September but I'll definitely bear in mind how long it takes
Original post by shaunnaob
Thank you so much! You'll have to let me know how you get on.. Unfortunately we have holidays booked and can't really afford to move any earlier than the second week of September but I'll definitely bear in mind how long it takes


You should contact some letting agenices and find out whe the typical contracts run from. It may be they start in September, but it may be they start much earlier i.e July when the previous students leave. Unlike student halls, lettings in the private sector are normally 1 year, but it depends on the contract. If you were very clever you could get 6 month short let and let it go to a rolling contract, but i think most LLs will want 52 weeks. Akkiwung for 2 months then you should be looking in July.

As you both drive then maybe somewhere a bit further out will mean more for your money. You cnan get a long way in 20 mins.

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