Here are some questions that we have been asked over the years. The answers may be quite specific to the service that we try to provide, but these kinds of questions, along with the additional advice notes, are certainly worth considering if you’re looking at various options while searching for suitable accommodation.

Are we members of a recognised landlords association?

Yes. We are members of the National Landlords Association (NLA). Additionally we have gone on to achieve full landlord accreditation status with the NLA (hence the authorised use of the NLA accredited logo on our website). Similarly we have also achieved full accreditation on the East Midlands Landlords Accreditation Scheme (EMLAS). The value of these associations to you as a Tenant is explained in our section ‘Your Care & Safety’.

Does the rent include the bills?

Yes. We acknowledge that you are busy professionals, and the hassle of dealing with domestic bills is the last thing you need at this point in your career.
Your rent will cover the following bills: Council tax, water, gas, electric, wireless broadband, and a TV license and Virgin media television package for the communal living areas.
The only bill that you will need to consider is if you choose to have your own television in your room, in which case you will need to purchase your own TV license.

Are the rooms fully furnished?

Yes. All the rooms are equipped with the minimum of a bed, mattress, work station/workdesk, curtains and/or blinds, table lamp, light shade, work chair and wardrobe. The majority of them also have bedside tables and lamps, mirror, additional shelving and cupboard space. Every room is different and the furniture and decor has been chosen to work in that particular room.

What do I need to bring to the room?

All you need is your bedding! A mattress protector is also a good idea, even though we always provide a brand new mattress for every new Tenant.

What if I have some of my own room furniture?

You are welcome to use your own bed or other furniture in your room, although your rent will stay the same.

What other facilities are in the rooms?

Every room has a minimum of two double plug sockets, a TV point, radiator and access to the wireless broadband.

All the doors are self closing fire doors. The doors have a thumb operated lock, and the only Tenant who has access to your room with a door key is you (we as Landlords have a spare key for your room: on more than one occasion we’ve let Tenants back into their rooms after they’ve locked themselves out!).

What else do I need?

We pride ourselves in the safety and security of our properties, but we strongly recommend that you have your own contents insurance (which is your responsibility and not that of the landlord), and as we’ve found in the past even the most careful of Tenants can knock a coffee over a laptop keyboard! If you would like any help with contents insurance please go to the ‘Recommendations From Us’ page for our dependable insurance contact.

What facilities are there in the communal areas?

We adhere to the requirements as identified by the local authorities: the overall size of the property and the number of rooms dictates the level of facilities required. However, in all our properties the kitchens are equipped with oven facilities, fridge and freezer, washing machine, microwave, toaster, kettle, crockery, cutlery and kitchen utensils.
Iron and ironing board, vacuum cleaner, and general dust pans and brushes are also provided. The cellar facilities give tenants additional storage space (rather than just in their own rooms).The living room areas are also fully furnished to accommodate the number of tenants living in the house. Where required, in the larger houses there are fire safety signs, emergency lighting, alarm points and extinguishers located in designated places. All the bathrooms are equipped with bath and shower facilities. All the properties have a useful rear garden or patio area.

Who do I contact about repairs and maintenance?

You contact us directly if you have any issues. This way we can respond to your request in the shortest time possible. Aside from our own abilities, we have a great support team of professionals to address any issues.

Our properties are just like any normal household. At some stage something will need a bit of maintenance. Whether it’s a creaky door hinge, a dripping tap, a blown fuse or a blocked sink, we would like to know; in fact we encourage our Tenants to let us know sooner rather than later.

Do you cater for smokers?

Sorry, but we don’t cater for smokers. Additionally, the high standard of the smoke alarm systems in the accommodation would detect traces of smoke and, for the safety of the tenants, would automatically activate the alarm system.

ADVICE

Where to start looking for available accommodation

Location, location, location! This is fine if you’re familiar with an area, but if you are new to a town it can be very tricky.

Look on our ‘Useful Maps’ page: here you will find a map that shows walking distance in minutes from Northampton General Hospital, along with street names. With this map in mind you can try any of the property search websites to view what is available, but you may wish to try the following:

• Go to: www.rightmove.co.uk
• Under the heading ‘find property using a map’, click on ‘Major towns and cities in the UK’
• Scroll down to Northampton Property, and click on ‘property to rent in Northampton’
• Click on ‘draw-a-search’
• Using the zoom scale on the left side of the map, zoom in on Northampton until you find the hospital (or any other site of interest to you).You can then fine tune your area in any direction by using the up/down/left/right arrows at the top left of the map
• Using the cursor you can now outline an area for your search: by clicking on the map you start to draw the edge of your area.
  
• When you’ve completed a drawn area you can view the properties available, or better still save the area by creating an account. This doesn’t cost a penny, and it means you can view the saved area whenever you wish, and in the meantime any new properties that come onto the market are automatically added to your saved area.

‘Bills all inclusive’ versus ‘Bills extra’

Renting just the accommodation will, at an initial glance, appear to be cheaper than a rental accommodation that includes the bills. However, once the costs of utilities are taken into account the final figure can be totally different. The cost of gas and electric tends to go up more than it ever comes down, and this can become a serious expense during a harsh winter.

If you are thinking about renting just accommodation you should ask the landlord or agent for some guidelines on the potential monthly cost of the utilities you could be liable for. These could include gas, electric, council tax, water rates, TV license, and line rental for telephone and/or internet.

Renting with all bills included means that you know exactly how much your accommodation will cost you per month, and consequently for the whole period of your tenancy. You also don’t have the extra responsibility of the administration and payment of bills, and it’s not your problem if something happens to go wrong. However it’s always wise to establish what exactly ‘all inclusive’ covers: some facilities such as internet may not be included, and this can become a big expense.

 Length of a tenancy agreement

An Assured Shorthold Tenancy tends to be the type of tenancy agreement usually operated by landlords. The most popular length of these tenancies tends to be six or twelve months, but it can be mutually agreed for any term.

Check the ‘comfort’ of the room

The amount of furniture and facilities in a room do not necessarily indicate the level of comfort of a room. For example, if you go into a furniture store you always try the furniture before you buy. If the room is furnished try the suitability of the chair, the height of the desk, the ease of opening the window and the door, and most importantly the comfort of the bed: this is extremely important as everyone needs a good night’s sleep in order to function properly.

For the obvious reasons (which don’t need to be mentioned here) you should check the quality and the condition of the bed mattress.

All our tenants enjoy (and deserve) a new mattress when they rent from us. We purchase our mattresses from an NLA approved recognised supplier.

Check your ‘neighbours’

This is especially important if you are house sharing. It’s not always easy to choose your housemates, but ‘like minded’ people will always make your comfort and time in the property a happier one.

Read the tenancy agreement

Find time to read the tenancy agreement before you sign it. Don’t feel pressurised into signing a contract (while the landlord looks on). Ask questions if you’re not quite sure what something means: you are not expected to be an expert on tenancy agreements any more than you could expect the landlord to be an expert in your particular profession!

Any landlord who has a genuine appreciation of a tenant’s situation will happily allow you the time to check a tenancy agreement and to answer any questions you may have.

Not only should the tenancy agreement highlight your obligations as a tenant, it should also tell you what the landlord’s obligations are to you, and both are just as important as each other.