Fears over release date for approved landlords

A decision to bring forward the release of the University’s approved list of landlords by two months has been branded as "annoying" by students.

In previous years the University department Accommodation & Campus Services (ACS) has annually released a list of approved landlords through the PropertywithUS service at the start of January.

All properties included on the register have been inspected by a University Housing Officer before their details are made available to students. The properties are required to meet the standards of the Sheffield City Council’s responsible landlord scheme.

However, this year the release date has been moved forward to Monday, November 10.

First year students will now have to make decisions about housemates based on people that they have only known for a number of weeks.

At the other end of the spectrum, this has also proved problematic for final year students applying for postgraduate courses.

Postgraduate application deadlines are generally later in the academic year, meaning that prospective students will be unable to search for accommodation without a guaranteed place at the University.

This has left students with the decision of either signing contracts early to secure themselves a house or waiting until later in the academic year, taking the risk that all the University approved landlords may have no properties left to offer.

It has been suggested this will then increase the number of students having to live in un-registered housing which poses a number of potential risks.

Third year Maths student Charlie Bunting hopes to do a PGCE next year, but as the application scheme for teacher training courses is still in progress he will not know for definite until after Christmas if he needs a place to live in Sheffield.

Charlie said: "It’s a shame I can’t stay in my current house but because of this new release date our landlord wants us to tell him if we’re staying by November 7. I’m confident I’ll still be able to get housing after Christmas but it is annoying."

Welfare Officer Kathryn Axon has defended the move. She said: "Each year landlords release their properties earlier and earlier whilst we tell students not to rush into signing.

"The stats and student opinion show us that students want the information about house hunting early so that they can make an informed decision.

"The step to release the list early is positive as it means that whilst students should not rush into signing, if they feel they absolutely cannot wait then they have the option of signing with a registered property."

The Union of Students has held the Smart Move campaign this week to promote the House Hunting Guide online and raise awareness for general house hunting good practice.

Holly Taylor