27/02/2021
Top Tips on looking for a room.
The most important thing when you're looking for a room in a house
Is it a house in multiple occupation:
Is it somewhere that you want to live and it's somewhere you can enjoy?
I have been a landlord for more than 25 years.
One of the things I found is that many people move into rooms and haven't done the work they need to to find out whether the place will be right for them.
The key things:
Ask about the house.
How is it managed?
Is it licensed, how many is it licensed for?
Are there house rules?
How do people in the house get on?
What the people in the house do for a living?
Do they work shifts?
Do they interact with one another? and if they do
What sorts of things do they interact and do?
I know it's coronavirus.
Currently, people have been living in houses for a lot longer than coronavirus been around, and
We will live in houses and rooms for a lot longer than coronavirus is around.
So, make sure that you ask relevant questions if you're going to see a house in multiple occupation in the area
Does it need licensing?
Does it need additional licensing?
That's very easy to check on the local websites, but
If it needs licensing the manager’s details and contact details will be on the wall whether it needs licensing or not.
So, they should be on the wall, look for those and the licence.
If it requires a licence, it should be on the wall.
If it isn't, asked for a copy of it.
There should also be management regulations.
When you move into a property – the landlord should give you the prescribed information.
Is he taking a deposit and if he's taking it, has he secured it, or is he going to secure it?
If they're not taking a deposit well there's no need for that.
What type of tenancy are you having?
Are you having an Assured Shorthold Tenancy because this is your sole place of living, or are you having a licence agreement because you live somewhere else and this is just a temporary arrangement for you?
These are two different types of agreement.
The other thing that's very important to think about:
Is the room size, the bed, and are the storage facilities suitable for you and how you live.
And will you be able to keep it tidy?
What about the kitchen?
Is it big enough? are the facilities there for the number of people that live in the house?
So, if there are five people living in the house and there's just one cooker with no extra cooking facilities and no microwave, toasters and things like that. It may be a little bit difficult.
Is there enough sink space?
Are there enough bathrooms, normally one bathroom between five people with an extra toilet is acceptable in most houses?
Has any of the rooms got an en-suite.
So, that maybe one or two other people are not using the bathroom at all because they have an en-suite, so it's nice to know what's in the house, how it's put together.
What communal facilities there are because some properties have no communal facilities.
Has it got communal facilities, you should need to pay more.
Is it well maintained?
Has it got a garden is that well maintained,
How does the house look when you approach it?
How does it look when you're inside?
Are things repaired?
Does it look clean and tidy?
Does it have a homely feel?
Well for those things you're going to pay more, so don't do not take a room on price.
If a room is really cheap, then probably it's not compliant, hasn't got the right fire doors, it hasn't got fire doors with closers, it probably doesn't have the right smoke alarms etc.
So ask about these things because this is where you're going to live.
You want to be sure absolutely sure that where you're living is well managed, it's safe, and that the landlord has invested in the right things that are required for a house in multiple occupation
A house in multiple occupation is where three sharers are living together with at least two of them are not related.
So if you're in a shared house, please, if you're looking to go somewhere new please accept that, f you want a high quality, well maintained and properly licensed and compliant house, it's likely that you're going to have to pay a bit more for that.
Because those that are selling off the rooms cheap or renting them off cheap, the reason they're doing that is probably that they're not compliant, or they're not making the investment.
I hope that helps.
And I hope it helps you move forward with looking for a room.
