A student's guide to renting

The letting agency

Beware exaggerated charges often applied by lettings agents. Tenants are often asked to pay as much as £400 for "administration" – which amounts to a few pieces of photocopied contracts. Look out for inflated credit reference fees (£150?), inventory fees (£80?), insurance fees, checking-out fees and cleaning fees. Naive young students think they have no choice but to pay up – buy they do. Always ask the agency for a full list of costs upfront to avoid nasty surprises. Negotiate with the agent on fees – for example, the cost to the agency of doing a credit check is in reality only around £10-£20 a head. Report excessive charges to your university accommodation office, and to trading standards, which may be able to take action if the charges are out of proportion to the actual cost. Agents are not allowed to charge for showing you properties.

The rent

Negotiate the rent down. The rent set by the landlord is simply an asking price, and you can bid lower, just as you would do if you were buying a house. House prices have fallen, and landlords are paying less for their mortgages, so there's no reason you should be paying a higher rent than last year's tenants.

The property

You will be spending lots of your time there, and it will be a massive drain on your finances. Studentpad.co.uk has a useful checklist to take to a property when viewing. It adds: "The best reference for the property and landlord will come from the current tenants. Try to speak to them without the landlord, get a true picture of what it is like to live in the property, and whether the landlord has been prompt in responding to requests for repairs."

When viewing a property, take along a checklist compiled by surveyor Justin Burns which can be downloaded at mypropertyguide.co.uk. It gives a great list of things to look out for that most students forget. For example, some contracts require the tenants to look after the garden – yet provide no tools.

The contract

The landlord or agency will want everyone occupying the property on the tenancy agreement (usually an "assured shorthold tenancy") in which all names will be held "jointly and severally liable". In other words, if one of you buzzes off half way through term, you're still liable for the rent. Parents will also be asked to act as guarantors and accept legal and financial responsibility. Student housing contracts usually now last 12 months, with no chance of a break before then. But one tip is to look for properties outside of usual student areas and ask for the length of contract you want. If you can get a break clause inserted in the tenancy – which allows either party to give two months' notice to end the tenancy after six months – then you can use it as a clever way to get a tenancy matching the nine-month academic year.

The deposit

Since April 2007, landlords have been legally required to safeguard the deposit paid by tenants, and must place the money in one of three government-approved schemes. Don't be fobbed off by a landlord who says it's unnecessary paperwork and that your money is safe so long as you keep the place tidy. The landlord must, within 14 days of taking the deposit, tell you where the money is and how you can get it back. If they don't, they're liable for a penalty of three times the value of the deposit.

At the end of the 12 months, you have to return the property in the same condition that it was originally let, "allowing for fair wear and tear," according to the government's own advice. If you and your landlord or agent can't agree how much of your deposit should be returned, then you have access to a free disputes mechanism, set out in the original protection scheme. For more information, go to direct.gov.uk The National Union of Students also has an enforcement pack at nus.org.uk

The inventory

When you move in, make a detailed list of the contents. "Everything (yes, that means everything), needs to be included, from whether the toilet seat is on properly to whether the carpet is without holes. Both you and your landlord should sign and date this and have a copy each," advises studentpad.co.uk. Take lots of photographs, too. These will be essential evidence in any dispute over the return of a deposit. If you make any verbal agreements over things such as additional furniture or repairs, get these in writing, signed and dated by the landlord or agent.

Moving In

Each student in a shared house is jointly responsible for paying the gas, electricity and water bills. Don't be soft on dopey flatmates and just put your own name down on the bills. Register with each company in all your names, which means all of you are responsible – and all accountable if you fall behind with payments. Landlords have a legal obligation to provide the tenants with a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate. The regulations stipulate that all gas appliances and flues in rented accommodation must be checked for safety every 12 months. All furniture in rented properties has to meet the "cigarette test" to avoid being in breach of fire safety regulations. And electrical equipment should be supplied safe, although Justin Burns says: "There is little detail in the regulations as to what the definition of 'safe' is."

TV licence

It's £145.50, which is why so many students try to dodge it. The legal get-out is if you only watch "catch-up" television on your laptop, for example over BBC iPlayer. But if you watch any television live, even on your laptop, you have to buy a licence. More details at tvlicensing.co.uk. If you have a joint tenancy, then you only have to pay for one licence for the house, no matter how many tellies you have. If you have individual tenancy agreements, then a licence is required for each person with a TV in the room.

Council tax

A place occupied only by full-time students is exempt from council tax. So if you live in a house where everyone is a full-time student you shouldn't get a bill. If there's someone in the household who's not a full-time student the household will get a bill, but may qualify for a discount on the full amount. More details at direct.gov.uk

Locks

Shared student houses are full of stuff thieves love – such as bikes and laptops. If you are going to rent in an area full of student houses, make sure yours has good security locks on all doors and windows, and maybe a burglar alarm. Consider buying insurance – but try your parents first. Their contents insurance may be extended to cover their offspring's possessions away from home at little or no extra cost.

Day-to-day bills - and unwelcome lovers

The golden rule of shared households is that you always think that (a) you do more cleaning than anyone else and (b) you pay for more of the milk, coffee, bread and toilet paper than anyone else. Avoid flare-ups by setting up a kitty and decide early on how you'll each pay into it.

And don't expect your flatmates to subsidise your boyfriend/girlfriend staying for half the week.

Make a rule that if one of your flatmates has a "guest" staying two nights or more then they must pay into the kitty.

The landlord calls

Your landlord has the keys to your home, but can't call whenever he or she likes. "A landlord does have to give notice to a tenant that they are going to visit. If they don't respond, they can set a time and a date when they are going to enter the property," says Justin Burns. The minimum notice regarded as reasonable is 24 hours.

If the landlord visits the property uninvited and at unreasonable hours, or refuses to complete repairs, threatens you into leaving or disconnects essential services such as gas, they you may have a claim for harassment. Harassment is a criminal offence under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. Keep a diary of events in case you need to take further action.

The NUS has advice on dealing with problem landlords at nus.org.uk.

Noise

Your assured shorthold tenancy contract will contain measures to allow the landlord to evict you and your flatmates for unreasonable behaviour such as noisy parties disturbing local residents. Neighbours can also contact their local council's Environmental Health Officer.

Councils can serve a noise abatement order on the perpetrator, and if there are further offences can seize equipment and bring the offender to the magistrates court. Those convicted can be fined up to £5,000.

Just don't be anti-social. Politely inform neighbours if you are holding a party, and turn the music down after midnight, please.