Things that you Must Factor into your Student Accommodation in Brighton Budget

you can  It is important if you are looking for student accommodation in Brighton that you understand what your responsibilities are. Additionally, how these will affect you when looking for property. We find that students looking for accommodation often don’t consider other items they may have to pay to have the property. We appreciate it is a first time for students moving out of home and they may not be aware of the extra bills that could be required. Below we give a brief guide here of what you need to take into account.

Are you considering going to the University of Sussex, University of Brighton, seeking higher education and studying at University? Are you a Brighton student looking live in Brighton? What are your housing options and the cost? Are city centre properties to rent are going to be higher than the outlying property?

It is important you understand that as you are going to University whether it is University of Brighton and University of Sussex that Brighton and Hove can be a very expensive area when it comes to rentals. The prices fluctuate depending on the different types of accommodation. There are various different housing options from private halls, university halls and student houses. These are in various different areas from living in the centre of town to the outskirts. You can often pay more money if you looking for houses that have more than one shared bathroom. It is important you understand all the factors you need to take into account before you even start looking.

Rent

It seems obvious but all student accommodation will need you to pay some form of rent. This is a required payment and most student accommodation in Brighton is scheduled on a calendar monthly basis. We often find that students don’t understand that dividing it by 12 isn’t a calendar month as such. We appreciate students like to look for student accommodation in Brighton based on a weekly rental amount. But they tend to then divide it by 12 and don’t understand that each calendar month is different. What we find is that most students multiply the weekly rent by four which doesn’t work out to be correct per calendar month. If you are looking to work out the property most of ours will state the monthly and weekly rent. If it is weekly, you have to times it by 52 and then divide by 12. Not times it by 4 for the month.

Each property will have a different price and this relates to where it is and what it is and how it looks inside. It is important that you look at what area you wish to live in and understand the average rent in that area. Don’t be surprised by it.

There is no defined rule if you are looking to go to college or University of Brighton or Sussex on how much your rent will be. This very much relates to the market rental at the time. Rents can be influenced by the amount of accommodation currently on the market against the amount of students that are looking for accommodation. You will also find that some accommodation, due to the cost of living crisis, is being taking by professionals. As this can be a cheaper option for them. If you are looking for a property in the city centre then this can be much more expensive than looking for a property to rent on the outskirts.

Guarantor

Will I need a guarantor for my student accommodation in Brighton? Yes, we will need you to have a homeowner guarantor. That is somebody who owns a home in the United Kingdom and can guarantee your rent in the event that you do not pay it. We do however now have a company that we use that offers an insurance policy for any guarantors in the event that there is a default. Please click the link here….

The guarantor will not only need to guarantee yourself but also everyone else in the building. This is because contracts are done on a joint and several basis. What does joint and several mean? It means that you are each responsible for each others rent. In this instance we always ask each individual tenant to have their own guarantor in order to ensure that it is fair.

Utility Bills

Are these included in my student accommodation? No, it is unlikely that your utility bills are included within your rent. We do not include bills of any nature. But we can give you details of a provider who will be able to help you in splitting your bills between you. If this is what you need. They provide an all over service to include electricity, gas, water, TV licence, rates and broadband. But they are a separate company to ourselves

You will find that some companies do include all-inclusive bills. However, we find that these are more expensive than the normal open market and it is not something that we do. It is also important that you are aware that all-inclusive bills don’t always include everything. You need to check with the individual companies that you are dealing with what it does and doesn’t include.

It is so important that you are aware what bills are required. You will be looking to pay for gas, electricity, water, TV licence and broadband. We have broadband included within some of our rents. You need to be aware that when it comes to utilities it is your responsibility not the landlords or letting agents to deal with these. It is thus so important that you often read your meter to ensure that your bills are correct. Click here to read our previous article on Utility bills and council tax explained.

It is important that you understand that with the cost of living crisis that you budget for what it will cost to heat and light the property. As well as working from your own home when dealing with your study work. You should work out what you can afford by way of utility bills. This is never easy as utilities are going up on a regular basis so it may be worth shopping around. We use a company called Huddle and if you require details don’t hesitate to let us know.

TV Licence

You may have never had to pay for a TV licence and never taken it into account. But if you are in a joint tenancy agreement for the whole house then you will have to pay for a TV licence. A TV licence is usually per household, but you will need to check.

There are a lot of different ways to buy a TV licence. You may find that you need to share this within the house. Often you can make a one-off payment every 12 months either online or by direct debit. You can spread the cost over a direct debit for a period of six months or four months. Also you can choose a payment card which you can pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

You need to ensure you have a TV licence to watch or record live TV programmes on any channel or download or watch BBC programmes on an iPlayer. This could also include any device including a TV desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, and digital box and DVD/VHS recorder.

Even if you are in University Halls a communal licence won’t cover your room. However, it may be covered by your parents’ licence. You will need to check with the licencing authority who can be contacted on TV Licencing.co.uk on their website.

Council tax

Full time students need to be aware of their responsibilities about council tax. Not all councils are the same thus you need to take this into account. However, you will also need to ensure that you have a council tax exemption certificate. We have done an extensive article on council tax and you should read this through. Alternatively, you could speak to Brighton and Hove Borough council and their Department who will be able to help you with a link for council tax exemption.

Contents Insurance

This is often not considered when you are looking to share a property. Most students don’t appreciate that they need to have contents insurance for their own accommodation. It is so important that you understand that this is your responsibility to deal with.

Travel

Considering that you may have to travel on the bus, if you do not have a car or bicycle to the University. You will need to ensure what the cost would be for travel. This is so important.

Do you have a car? Have you spoken to the University about a parking space? Is there going to be a cost to this? Are you taking a property on the outskirts of Brighton because it is cheaper but then not realising it is going to cost more money to get into the centre of town. Are you going to want to go to the centre of town on a regular basis and if so what are your options? Always look at what the local travel costs are.

Start looking early

It is important to start looking fairly early on as student housing can be snapped up very quickly. People often find when in their second year that you have to secure your property in January or February. Even though you may not be looking to move until August. This can be tricky to find out about exams and your move in but it is always good to look around and get a feel of the market.

Budgeting

When moving and finding a house, budgeting is super important. Why not make a spreadsheet of your finances? It would help you to understand what your monthly expenses are and how much you would need in order to make everything work. The last thing you want to do is sign a contract for a house and suddenly realise at a later date it is too expensive. You may then be consistently over worked and stressed about paying your rent. Money is always going to be an inevitable stressful situation. Why not opt for a less fancy flat and be able to pay your bills, do a food shop and go out with your mates to the pub. Rather than worrying about your rent. You might even get to go for a coffee and to the cinema. Do some research on gaging exactly what the housing market is doing in the area and be realistic and mindful of the situation.

Parking permits

Not all of the areas in Brighton and Hove will require a parking permit. However, if it does there is always a cost to it. When viewing a property make sure you are aware of what the local authority require and what the cost is.

Council Tax

If you are studying full time in education that is more than 21 hours a week then you should be exempt from paying council tax. However, you need to make sure you get an exemption certificate from the local authority.

Laundry

We know it sounds simple but you need to know if there is a washing machine or tumble dryer at the property. If not are you going to have to go out to a local launderette. You need to ensure that you also buy all the materials for these type of appliances which will be your responsibility including dealing with the filters etc.

Replacing light bulbs

It may seem simple but it will be your responsibility to replace the light bulbs at the property. Don’t expect your landlord to do this as it wont be their responsibility.

Student life

One of the main reasons you might well be at university is to enjoy your student life. Have you taken that into account in your budget? You really need to understand what you are going to be looking to spend on a regular basis and how you can have the best possible night out for the smallest amount.

Tips

Paying your rent on time can boost your credit score. Did you know that you can opt into rental exchange initiative? A free scheme that records your rent payments and sends the results to credit agency Experian. It can help you in future if you pay your rent-on time.

Look as early as you can for rental accommodation. Statistics say that people start to look around mid-November to find accommodation.

If you have a student loan either consider paying your rent in advance or alternatively put it into a high interest-bearing account to earn as much interest for you as possible.

We hope you have good hunting in student accommodation in Brighton. Please don’t hesitate to contact us on (01273) 724000 as we are one of the largest providers in Brighton and Hove.