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Student Housing
#1 Student Lettings Agency
Moving into student accommodation can feel overwhelming, but we’re here to guide you every step of the way. As your letting agent, we work hard behind the scenes to protect you, ensure your landlord meets all legal requirements, and keep everything running smoothly. While we’re your main point of contact, we act on behalf of the landlord to make sure your tenancy is safe, compliant, and well managed from day one.
Before you can collect your keys, everything on your tenancy needs to be in place. That means your rent, your documents, and anything else we’ve asked for.
If something’s missing, we can’t release keys. Not because we want to be awkward, but because once keys are handed over, the tenancy has legally started. We have to get that bit right.
Assuming everything’s sorted, you’ll collect your keys from our office and head to your new place. That’s the moment it starts to feel real.
Please ensure you've read your payment schedule and welcome email thoroughly before arriving to collect your keys.
When you walk in, it will be clean. But it won’t be perfect. And that’s the bit people don’t always expect.
Every property is domestically cleaned in a very tight turnaround window. We’re not working with hotel timelines or empty weeks to get things immaculate. In many cases, one group moves out and another moves in almost immediately after.
So while the house will be hygienic and ready to live in, there might be the odd bit that doesn’t meet your personal standard. Most groups end up doing a quick once-over themselves, and honestly, that’s normal.
We are pushing as hard as we can behind the scenes to get every property ready, but during this week in particular, it’s all hands on deck and things are moving fast.
Before you start unpacking, take a few minutes to properly look around the house. But before you go straight to your camera, check your inventory.
We produce a detailed inventory for every property, and it’s there for a reason. It will often already highlight any marks, wear and tear, or known issues within the house. In a lot of cases, if something isn’t perfect, we’ve already picked it up and noted it. - So your landlord can't charge you for something that wasn't your fault.
You might also see items listed that require attention or repair. That doesn’t mean they’ve been missed. It means we’re already aware of them and they’re either scheduled in or being worked through as part of our move-in period. This time of year is incredibly busy, so some non-urgent items do carry over slightly, but they are on our radar.
Once you’ve read through the inventory, then it’s worth doing your own quick check. Walk around with your phone, take a few photos or a short video, open cupboards, check surfaces. It’s just about having your own record so everything is clear from day one.
If you do spot something that isn’t mentioned on the inventory, don’t sit on it. The easiest way to flag it is by submitting a maintenance request through our online system at https://student-housing.co.uk/fix. That goes straight into our workflow and means we can track it properly and get it resolved.
Most issues at move-in are small and easily sorted. The key is making sure they’re logged in the right place so nothing gets missed.
We provide the core essentials. Your kitchen will have the main appliances, and the house will have what you need to function. But it won’t be stocked.
There’s no kettle waiting for you. No toaster. No plates, no cutlery, no bin bags. These are your responsibility, and every year there are groups who arrive assuming otherwise and end up doing a late-night supermarket run.
Same goes for your bedroom. You’ll have a bed, but you’ll need to bring your own bedding. Most are doubles, typically either 4ft or 4ft 6”, so it’s worth checking that in advance rather than guessing.
It sounds obvious, but the number of people who forget things like a duvet or even toilet roll is higher than you’d think.
Bins are a big one. Because of how close move-out and move-in dates are, bin collection doesn’t always line up neatly. When you arrive, the bins will be at the property, but they might already be full from the previous tenants.
We know it’s not ideal, but there’s no realistic way around it with council collection schedules. Once you’ve moved in, it becomes your responsibility to manage them going forward.
Another one is basic cleaning gear. Even if the house looks fine at first glance, you’ll probably want things like a mop, cloths, and sprays just to get it exactly how you like it. The groups who bring these with them tend to settle in much quicker.
From the moment you collect your keys, you're a resident. Rent needs to be paid in line with your agreement. If it’s missed, it will be chased. If it continues to be missed, it escalates. It’s far easier to stay on top of it than deal with it later.
We’re always reasonable, but we are also running a business with obligations to landlords, so it’s important to treat it seriously from day one.
This week is intense for everyone. For you, it’s a big life moment. New house, new independence, new routine.
For us, it’s the result of months of planning condensed into a very short window where everything has to come together at once. Our team is working flat out behind the scenes to get houses ready, deal with last-minute issues, answer calls, and make sure keys are going out on time.
We care about getting it right. A lot. But we’re also dealing with a huge volume all at once, so a bit of patience and understanding goes a long way.
The groups who have the smoothest move-ins are always the same. They turn up prepared. They bring the correct documents, pay their rent and deposit early. They expect a lived-in property, not a show home. They sort the small stuff quickly and get on with it.
Do that, and within a couple of hours, it stops feeling like a stressful move-in day and starts feeling like your home.
And that’s the bit that actually matters.
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#1 Student Lettings Agency
Student Housing is a top-rated student lettings agency offering fully furnished, bills-included accommodation across Lincoln, Nottingham, and Hull. Run by former students, we provide hassle-free, transparent housing tailored for university life.
