Northcourt Avenue, Reading, RG2 7HB
At the end of the first year, many students move into a house together with friends they have made either through their course or from halls of residence. During week 3, the Students Union gives housing talks in Halls of Residence giving information and advice about finding a house...
This is an excellent chance to find out everything you need to know about renting a house in Reading, as well as a chance to ask any questions about things you may be unsure about. For more information, and to find out what you should do next, visit the RUSU housing website here. You should also look at the 'Shelter' website which contains lots of information about your rights about renting.
HALL ACCOMMODATION
If you are interested in applying for a place in a University Hall for next year you should collect an application form from your Hall Office or the Accommodation Service in Whiteknights House Annexe and complete and return it by Tuesday 14 February at the latest. The number of Hall places available for continuing students next year will be VERY limited – particularly for second years. So, if you have a special reason why you feel you really need to have a Hall place, please make sure that you mention it on your application form.
If you are interested in a room in one of the privately operated UPP Halls (Reading Student Village and St George’s Hall) you should contact the Lettings Officer direct at www.thestudentvillage.com There is no application deadline for the UPP Halls, but places are normally allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
PRIVATE RENTED ACCOMMODATION
The Accommodation Service will start to advertise private properties for next Session on its website (www.reading.ac.uk/Accommodation) from 5 February onwards. We strongly recommend that you wait until then before beginning your search. We will have the best selection of suitable properties.
Be aware that if you use a local lettings agent you may find that there are additional one-off charges payable, and that the rent may be higher than for similar properties advertised on the University website. We think that the maximum rent you should expect to pay is around £65-£68 per week per student.
The Accommodation Service publishes a booklet entitled Living Out: the Essential Guide which gives a lot of information about what to consider when house hunting. Copies are available from the Accommodation Service in Whiteknights House Annexe.
Nick Smith (RUSU Vice-President Welfare), together with a team of RUSU and Hall JCR reps, will be running a number of Housing Talks in Halls during Week 3 of Term. Look out for posters advertising the exact date and time – or ask your JCR Welfare rep – and try to attend one of these meetings where you will find lots of useful information about house hunting. Further information will be available on the RUSU website at www.rusu.co.uk/housing
A ‘Find-a-housemate’ event will be held on Saturday 3 February in the Palmer Building.
In the meantime, please consider the following points:
- Think very carefully about who you decide to share a house with! It is likely that you will be tied into a joint tenancy for a full year.
- The best size of group is usually 4 - 6 students. Houses for groups of 7 or more tend to be in short supply. If you are in a larger group you may wish to consider splitting up and looking for two houses near each other.
- Don’t panic and rush to accept the first house you see. There will be plenty of others. Over the past few years the supply of private rented property in this area has exceeded demand.
- Do not confine your search to one location. If you look a little further afield you may find a better property.
- Do not go round knocking on doors to ask if houses are available for rent. This is not an effective way of finding a property, is potentially unsafe, and causes annoyance to local residents.
- If you do not wish to enter into a house-sharing arrangement – or if you don’t want to sign a contract for a full year – you may wish to consider renting a single room in a resident owner’s home. These will also be advertised on our website.
HOST FAMILY ACCOMMODATION
If you prefer to live in a family environment you may wish to arrange accommodation with a host family. These are local families who have been visited and approved by Accommodation Service staff. The accommodation is offered on a bed & breakfast basis, but it is also usually possible to use the family kitchen to cook your other meals. If you are interested in a host family please contact Jenny Artivich in the Accommodation Service (j.r.artivich@reading.ac.uk).
"Over the next few weeks, you may find yourself under pressure from the private sector to start looking for accommodation. This pressure may involve panicky marketing techniques and flyers saying all the good properties have been snapped up. This is NOT the case!"
RUSU will be visiting St. Patrick's Hall on Thursday, 1st February - 7pm.
The talk will take place in the JCR.
This is an excellent chance to find out everything you need to know about renting a house in Reading, as well as a chance to ask any questions about things you may be unsure about. For more information, and to find out what you should do next, visit the RUSU housing website here. You should also look at the 'Shelter' website which contains lots of information about your rights about renting.
24/01/07: More information from the Accommodation Office:
HALL ACCOMMODATION
If you are interested in applying for a place in a University Hall for next year you should collect an application form from your Hall Office or the Accommodation Service in Whiteknights House Annexe and complete and return it by Tuesday 14 February at the latest. The number of Hall places available for continuing students next year will be VERY limited – particularly for second years. So, if you have a special reason why you feel you really need to have a Hall place, please make sure that you mention it on your application form.
If you are interested in a room in one of the privately operated UPP Halls (Reading Student Village and St George’s Hall) you should contact the Lettings Officer direct at www.thestudentvillage.com There is no application deadline for the UPP Halls, but places are normally allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
PRIVATE RENTED ACCOMMODATION
The Accommodation Service will start to advertise private properties for next Session on its website (www.reading.ac.uk/Accommodation) from 5 February onwards. We strongly recommend that you wait until then before beginning your search. We will have the best selection of suitable properties.
Be aware that if you use a local lettings agent you may find that there are additional one-off charges payable, and that the rent may be higher than for similar properties advertised on the University website. We think that the maximum rent you should expect to pay is around £65-£68 per week per student.
The Accommodation Service publishes a booklet entitled Living Out: the Essential Guide which gives a lot of information about what to consider when house hunting. Copies are available from the Accommodation Service in Whiteknights House Annexe.
Nick Smith (RUSU Vice-President Welfare), together with a team of RUSU and Hall JCR reps, will be running a number of Housing Talks in Halls during Week 3 of Term. Look out for posters advertising the exact date and time – or ask your JCR Welfare rep – and try to attend one of these meetings where you will find lots of useful information about house hunting. Further information will be available on the RUSU website at www.rusu.co.uk/housing
A ‘Find-a-housemate’ event will be held on Saturday 3 February in the Palmer Building.
In the meantime, please consider the following points:
- Think very carefully about who you decide to share a house with! It is likely that you will be tied into a joint tenancy for a full year.
- The best size of group is usually 4 - 6 students. Houses for groups of 7 or more tend to be in short supply. If you are in a larger group you may wish to consider splitting up and looking for two houses near each other.
- Don’t panic and rush to accept the first house you see. There will be plenty of others. Over the past few years the supply of private rented property in this area has exceeded demand.
- Do not confine your search to one location. If you look a little further afield you may find a better property.
- Do not go round knocking on doors to ask if houses are available for rent. This is not an effective way of finding a property, is potentially unsafe, and causes annoyance to local residents.
- If you do not wish to enter into a house-sharing arrangement – or if you don’t want to sign a contract for a full year – you may wish to consider renting a single room in a resident owner’s home. These will also be advertised on our website.
HOST FAMILY ACCOMMODATION
If you prefer to live in a family environment you may wish to arrange accommodation with a host family. These are local families who have been visited and approved by Accommodation Service staff. The accommodation is offered on a bed & breakfast basis, but it is also usually possible to use the family kitchen to cook your other meals. If you are interested in a host family please contact Jenny Artivich in the Accommodation Service (j.r.artivich@reading.ac.uk).