Plymouth Student Union Letting Agency

Quite an interesting piece of news from the Plymouth Herald; the University of Plymouth Student Union has set up their own letting agency in response to the high number of problems their students have had with accommodation. The service is designed to focus on maintaining good conditions in the properties and improving student quality of life. The student formed agency also has its own property maintenance programme to promptly solve any problems that do arise.

Personally, I think this is a great idea and it takes straight after organisations such as the Cardiff Student Union letting agency which recently won an award from the London Times.

Here are some of the advantages we at BPM Maintenance can see in the scheme:

• The student union agency offers a very reasonable service to students with no agency fees, which can run into hundreds of pounds with an independent agency. 
• The strong links with the university give students peace of mind; knowing that their accommodation is in the hands of people who have their best interests at heart, rather than pursuing profit.
• Offers an alternative to existing organisations such as Unite, which provide pseudo halls of residence that may not appeal to all types of student.
• Material and information supplied is tailored for the students of that university rather than students or clients in general.
• Student union services such as this provide excellent work experience for then university students organising it.

Some possible downsides:

• The service may provide excellent experience for the students, as they will likely have very little relevant existing experience in the field. This may lead to mistakes and error which are part of the natural learning process, but could be detrimental to an already vulnerable sector (finance wise).
• High staff turnover due to the organisation being run by students; unable for individuals to build long standing relationships with landlords in the area and gain associated knowledge of properties for long.
• Students combining letting work with studies could lead to low quality.

Landlord vs Tenants

The private renting system can land both tenants and landlords in the soup when care is not taken. Two recent articles, one from the Herald Express; detailing rogue landlords in Torbay, South Devon, the other from the Central Somerset Gazette; concerning appalling tenants in Glastonbury.

Within Torbay, private landlords hold hundreds of low quality, ill-kept and poorly maintained properties across the resort. Many are often in the most deprived areas of the town, areas amok with the less disciplined kind of youth, prone to outbreaks of graffiti, noise and violence. Within just the last year, there have been 1400 complaints from local tenants, compared to just 3 and 40 from nearby, comparable towns. The landlords evict any tenant that complains about the low standard of living/quality of life.

The Glastonbury report tells the story of a landlord who accepted tenants on housing benefit and under the care of social services in the mistaken belief that this would provide some form of security, in that the public sector would ensure his new tenants are kept in line. However, when they finally moved out the unfortunate landlord discovered his house had been effectively ruined, with human excrement on the walls and the interior furniture left in wreckage.

Both cases highlight the importance of ensuring a detailed check is made on both sides of the tenancy agreement. Both the landlord and the tenant-to-be are making a costly decision that significantly affects their lives. Such a decision cannot be entered lightly and without the utmost care. The landlord should make use of a professional tenant letting service which obtains references from past landlords to check how they treat a property and their employer to check they can pay the rent.

The tenant should make at least one visit to the property before signing anything. A prospective tenant should make a check-list of what they're looking for in a property, tell-tale signs of maintenance required and prospective problems. They should check the lights, plumbing, electrical, doors, heating and more to know the property they are moving into sufficient to provide for their basic needs. Another useful task would be contacting local residents, scouting the nearby area to judge the quality of the neighbourhood.