Help & Advice for Students

Due to legislation that started in 2019, there are now strict limits on what you can be charged if you’re renting a place. These are:

• Your monthly rent
• A deposit (you’ll get this back if everything’s okay when you move out)
• Your regular bills like water, electricity, internet, TV, and local taxes (if they apply)

Sometimes, there might be some extra charges:

• If you want to change something about your rental agreement, it’ll cost £50.
• If you want to leave early, you’ll have to pay £120. This covers the cost of finding someone else to take your place.
• If you’re late on rent, there’s a daily fee. It’s 3% of your rent plus some extra based on the Bank of England’s rate.
• Lost your keys or security stuff? That’s £24 to replace them.
• If you call for an emergency fix and it turns out you caused the problem or it wasn’t a real emergency, you pay for it.
• If the place needs extra cleaning after you move out, you’ve got to cover that cost.

This will be advertised with the property and is usually 5 weeks rent. While the damage deposit is related to the property, as most student agreements are house shares, we can accept the damage deposit in more than one payment, as long as it adds up to the right amount. But please note – any deposit is returned as a single sum to the nominated head tenant.

As a Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) member, your deposit for an assured shorthold tenancy with us is safeguarded. On student properties, because agreements are signed many months in advance, your deposit is payable one month before your tenancy begins. This will then be registered with the TDS within 30 days of the payment being taken. Find out more here.

As a student, you need a Guarantor. The Guarantor will be required to financially support your application and is normally a parent, relative or guardian. Your Guarantor must be a property-owning EU resident.

If you’re a postgraduate and have a funded place, your proof of funding letter can be provided in place of a deed of guarantee. We’ll need proof of identity in the form of your passport, ID card, student card or utility bill (in your name) from your current address.

At the beginning of your tenancy, you’ll have a detailed Inventory and Schedule of Condition added to your Dropbox folder. This should be checked thoroughly and returned to us, signed and dated, with any necessary amendments, within one week of the start of your Tenancy. Please email a separate list to us for any maintenance that needs immediate attention.

If we don’t receive a signed copy of the inventory, it’ll mean you accept the inventory as a true statement of the condition of the property. It’s in your best interests to keep a copy safe for reference at the accompanied checkout appointment at the end of your Tenancy. The nominated Head Tenant should be at this checkout appointment but we recommend that all tenants are present at check-in and check-out if possible.

Your rent is divided into equal monthly instalments for your lease term. Please set up a Standing Order for these monthly payments. When we meet for the signing, we’ll kindly ask you to fill out a standing order mandate.

If you’re renting a property under our “Let Only” service, the first month’s rent is due one month before your move-in date. Subsequent rent payments will be made directly to the landlord. Kindly note that any late payments will incur charges as specified in the tenancy agreement.

Students can get exemption certificates by providing a student status letter from their university for the period they are at university. It’s the student’s responsibility to make sure they forward the exemption letter to the council. An exemption certificate is then sent from the council tax office to your property. Please don’t throw your exemption certificate away! Your landlord will need either proof that you have paid your council tax or copies of the exemption certificate during or at the end of the tenancy. If tenants don’t tell the council that they’re exempt, they’ll be liable for any fees that the council charges.

PLEASE NOTE: As soon as you graduate you’ll need to

In most cases, utilities are the responsibility of the tenants. The exception is for a few properties where utility payments are included in the monthly payment. While we’ll do everything we can to help with information relating to utility supply, we can’t guarantee who the current suppliers are. We can give you the contact numbers for the agencies who’ll confirm who’s currently supplying the property.

At the start of your tenancy, we’ll take opening meter readings with you and give you the telephone numbers to arrange for the gas, electric and water supplies to be transferred into your name.

For internet access, you’ll need to check with BT whether there’s already a phone line installed at the Property. BT won’t accept instructions from Prolet to have your phone line reconnected, and it’s your responsibility to directly make the arrangements with BT or any other supplier you choose. BT will charge for reconnection, and the time taken seems to range between one and thirty days! Our recommendation is that you contact BT about a week before you move in to make the necessary arrangements. But please bear in mind that neither you nor any representative has a right to access the property before your tenancy commences.

An alternative to BT is to arrange for a Virgin Media installation. If there isn’t a current installation at the property, let us know, and we’ll speak to the landlord for agreement to go ahead.

If we manage the landlord’s property for them, please direct all correspondence through us.

Your tenancy agreement will provide you with the name of your landlord. If we get a written request from you, we must provide the landlord’s address within 28 days. However, unless specified by the landlord, we aren’t required to share their phone number or email address.

We mostly communicate via email, so it’s essential to regularly review your inbox to stay informed. Expect emails from us about inspections, maintenance visits, and viewings.

You can reach us at student-enquiries@prolet.co.uk.

The landlord will have Buildings Insurance to cover the property, but we advise our tenants to make sure that any personal effects brought into the property are covered by Contents Insurance and that the insurance offers third-party cover for accidental damage to any items left by the Landlord. Don’t forget that tenants are responsible for ensuring that the property is always secure.

Some properties have planning restrictions that restrict parking. To find out if you can and are entitled to a parking permit, please visit www.norwich.gov.uk.

If we’re managing the property, yes we will visit. Typically, we schedule our initial property inspection within 4-6 weeks of your move-in date. You’ll get a notification via email about a week prior to the visit.

The objective of this visit is to make sure both parties are upholding their contractual obligations. We’ll let you know if we see anything that might make the landlord want to take money out of your deposit when you move out. We’ll also give you tips on how to avoid that.

We also carry out 2 inspections throughout the year to check if the property needs any maintenance and that everything is ok.

Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements are for a fixed term, and tenants can’t give notice to vacate the property. So, if one or all of you leave before the end of the agreement, you’ll remain liable for rent until the end.

Of course, we recognise that circumstances beyond your control can happen. If you need to change the contract before the end of the Term, we may be able to help, subject to the agreement of the Landlord. There will be additional administrative charges for this, which will vary depending on the legalities involved. If you need further information, please get in touch. In all instances, we’ll advise that you seek independent legal advice.

We provide a 24/7 online maintenance system for swift, non-emergency repairs. Visit Report a Repair to register. Once registered, a guided process helps in either initiating maintenance or guiding tenants to resolve issues. You can also upload photos to help our contractors prepare adequately.

For emergencies, please call us directly. Please see our emergency procedures for more information.

Our maintenance role involves processing tenant requests and forwarding them to Landlords. Since many landlords have their own maintenance teams, we might not directly assign contractors for every property. If there are delays in urgent tasks, we’ll chase Landlords on your behalf, but Prolet isn’t accountable for these delays.

If there’s a health, safety, or agreement breach and the owner is slow, Prolet will step in. Your landlord is responsible for most wear-and-tear repairs, but if a fault is due to misuse, like food clogs in drains, or there’s no actual fault, tenants will be held responsible for the call-out.

At the final inspection, you’ll get a report that details any work we feel you need to undertake to minimise the risk of the Landlord suggesting deductions from your deposit.

On the last day of the tenancy, the inventory clerk will meet you at the property for a prearranged and accompanied check-out appointment. This will be the time when we expect you to hand over vacant possession of the property.

At the appointment, the inventory clerk will ascertain anything classed as fair wear and tear (and chargeable to the landlord) and damage above fair wear and tear (chargeable to tenants). They’ll also confirm whether additional gardening, cleaning or carpet/upholstery cleaning is required.

It’s vital that tenants or their representatives are there at the check-out appointment to take final meter readings, hand over keys and corroborate the comments of the inventory clerk.

We expect properties to be returned to us cleaned to a professional standard, leaving no trace of the outgoing occupants. If additional cleaning is needed, this will be carried out by a professional cleaner at the end of your Tenancy the day after you move out. The outgoing tenant will bear the cost of any cleaning required.

You have to provide us or the landlord with a forwarding address by the last day of the tenancy in case of any outstanding bills.

Within 10 working days of check-out, we’ll tell the nominated Head Tenant about any proposed deposit deductions. Upon your approval and provided all terms of the tenancy agreement are met, we’ll process the agreed payment which should reach you within 10 working days. Note that properties are professionally cleaned at the end of each tenancy at your expense. However, if the property is already in a professionally clean state, cleaning fees will be waived.

Cleaning costs in Norwich:

• Light clean: £150
• Standard clean: £250
• Deep clean: £350

Please make sure ALL keys are returned during check-out. Missing keys will incur replacement charges.