House hunting guide

This relates to late rent payment or failure to pay rent on the specified date agreed in your tenancy agreement.

ASTs are one of the most common tenancy types in the private rented sector. ASTs apply to a property for which you pay rent, have exclusive possession to all common areas in the house, such as the kitchen, and the landlord does not reside in the property.

This relates to a term often used in tenancy agreements, which allows both parties to end a tenancy before its due date. Although this is beneficial to the tenant, it must be agreed by the landlord. But they are uncommon in student contracts.

Properties occupied by full time students are council tax exempt. If you're a part time student, you'll be liable for paying Council Tax but on a reduced rate. If you're in a house where most of you are students and one person is either part time or not studying at all, you'll all become liable for paying council tax due to this person living in the house. Further information can be found from Portsmouth City Council.

This can be defined as ‘the condition of being in need of repair’. As a tenant, you have the right to have your accommodation kept in a reasonable state of repair. You also have an obligation to look after the accommodation. The tenancy agreement may give details of both your and your landlord’s responsibilities in carrying out repairs, so you should check this.

This is a complex area relating to housing law where a landlord must request through the courts to have an order directing a tenant to leave the landlord’s premises. There are specific procedures that a landlord must follow before a tenant can be evicted. Trying to illegally evict someone is protected by law under the Prevention of Eviction Act 1977. For further advice if you feel you are under the threat of eviction, please come into the office and speak to one of the Student Housing Officers straight away.

This clause is often in place in most tenancy agreements to protect the tenant and make allowances for the original age, quality and condition of any item at the start of the tenancy, the average lifespan of the item, the number and type of occupants in the property and the length of the tenants’ occupancy. A good example would be faded paintwork, slight markings from furniture or a well-used oven. A good inventory will note the condition of fixtures and furnishings before a tenant moves into a property.

The majority of student agreements will be for a fixed term, from a (legal) minimum of six months up to 12 months. Once you've signed a fixed term agreement, you're obliged to pay rent to the landlord for the duration of the tenancy. Likewise, the landlord is bound by the fixed term on the contract. Some fixed term contracts will state a ‘minimum fixed term’. In such cases, it's advisable that you give your landlord at least one month’s written notice (or however much is stated in your agreement) prior to the end of the fixed term. Failure to give adequate notice can result in the landlord holding you responsible for a further month’s rent (or until sufficient notice has been received). If you're happy to stay at the property, there may be a clause in the contract which states that once the fixed term has passed you will then be on a ‘statutory periodic tenancy’ i.e. rolling the tenancy on a month by month basis until either the tenant or landlord gives notice to quit.

Quite literally, guarantees rent payments and other tenancy obligations on a rental property. It's standard practice for landlords to ask for a UK based guarantor for student tenants. It's normally a parent or a guardian of the tenant who takes on this responsibility. If you can't get a UK based guarantor, you may be asked to pay sets of rent in advance, for example, three to four months’ rent as a guarantee that the rent will be paid.

This is a classification of houses which have three or more bedrooms and all occupants are unrelated, i.e. student sharers. In August 2013, an additional licensing scheme was introduced within the PO1, PO4 and PO5 areas in Portsmouth, which means that smaller HMOs with three or more tenants belonging to two or more households also require a licence. These properties are required to be licensed by Portsmouth City Council and are subjected to checks by the council following the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) before a licence is granted.

This is a detailed list produced by the landlord that states the items in the property and their present condition. This includes furniture, fixtures and fittings in the property from doors and windows, to carpets and walls – ideally right down to the number of picture hooks on a wall.

When a group of tenants sign a joint contract (all tenants sign one contract rather than separate ones each), they (and their guarantors) are all equally responsible for the total amount of rent payable to the landlord (not just their share) and for the condition of the property. For example, all must contribute towards any repairs/ replacements required to items in the property once the tenancy ends and during the period of occupation.

A lodger is a person who rents a room in a private house from a landlord/lady who resides on the premises OR a family member of the property owner who resides there and shares the communal facilities. You generally will not sign a contract, maybe just a lodger’s agreement or a set of house rules. Lodgings agreements are generally very flexible, as you do not have a fixed term agreement, though please note, lodgers are not protected by the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. Your deposit is also not protected in one of the protection schemes, as you will not have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy.

This is the amount of time that your landlord gives you OR that you give before ending a tenancy. Landlords normally have to give two months’ notice and tenants one month, but this can vary depending on what's in your contract.

A resident landlord is classed as the property owner or a relative of the property owner, who lives in the same property as the person they are renting to.

The tenancy agreement is a form of consumer contract and, as such, it must be in plain language, which is clear and easy to understand. It must not contain any terms which could be ‘unfair’, e.g. the tenancy agreement must not put you or your landlord in a disadvantageous position, enable one party to change terms permanently and bind you to terms that you have had no time to become familiar with. An unfair term is not valid in law and cannot be enforced.