GUIDANCE NOTES FOR STUDENTS 2008
NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED ON RESERVATION

Thank you for your enquiry regarding PIKES ESTATE AGENTS letting service for students. The following information is designed to help answer your questions and set out some of the obligations, which you will have if you decide to rent through PIKES ESTATE AGENTS. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE VIEWING/RESERVING A PROPERTY. ASSURED SHORTHOLD TENANCY AGREEMENT Please ask for a draft copy for perusal prior to reserving a property. GROUP NUMBERS AND VIEWING APPOINTMENTS PIKES ESTATE AGENTS normally arrange lettings for student properties, in groups of 3 to 6. Please note you must have the correct number of students to allocate a property. It is recommended you rent with a group of friends. You will then need to arrange for your whole group to be present to view prospective properties. We can advise you of convenient viewing times for the properties, although some times we may require a minimum of 24/48 hours notice. GROUP LEADER Once you have found a suitable property you should appoint a group leader whom we can liaise with during the setting up of the tenancy. Please note that there is no additional legal obligation on the group leader. RENTAL AMOUNTS AND PERIOD. WE DO NOT DO SUMMER LETS NOTE: - ALL PERSONAL ITEMS AND FURNITURE MUST BE REMOVED FROM THE PROPERTY AT THE END OF THE TENANCY, EVEN IF THE GROUP HAS RESERVED THE PROPERTY FOR THE FOLLOWING TERM. All properties are generally available for a ten month fixed period. Your group may choose your Tenancy Start Date from either Saturday 23rd, 30th August, 6th or 13th September 2008, unless otherwise stated. The initial payments (including first month’s rent), may be made by cash or cheque, as you prefer - provided that you allow sufficient time for clearance (Ten Bank Working Days) - but once the tenancy has begun, the second and all subsequent installments of rent must be paid to our Clients Account by standing order, as specified in the tenancy agreement. Any such payments made by other means, such as cash or cheques, will be subject to a handling charge of £20.00 (inc. VAT) on each occasion. Weekly rents quoted are worked out using the following method, monthly rent, multiplied by 12 (months in a year), divided by 52 (weeks in a year). For example £265, multiplied by 12, divided by 52, gives you a weekly rent of £61.15. UTILITIES You will be responsible for all utilities at the property to include all charges connected to; gas, electric, water, telephone and council tax (full time students may apply for exemption). You will be obligated to inform all utility companies of your occupancy, we shall provide you with a list of the appropriate telephone numbers. Please note, that under the terms of the Tenancy Agreement, your deposit is held until receipted copies have been received from you, showing that all utilities have been paid and all rent has been received up to the end of your Tenancy Agreement and that the property has been inspected for condition and breakage’s, as per your inventory. INSURANCE Your personal contents will not be insured under any of the Landlord’s policies so we strongly advise you to insure your own contents especially if you have items of high value e.g. computers, mountain bikes etc. You may wish to insure against accidental damage to the Landlord’s contents. GUARANTOR You must have a guarantor parent/guardian in full time employment based in the United Kingdom who will guarantee your rental payments in the event of you failing to pay. A guarantor can only guarantee one student. In the event that you are unable to find a guarantor but still wish to rent through PIKES ESTATE AGENTS the full rent for the tenancy will be required in cleared funds before the commencement of the tenancy. The Guarantor will be required to provide a copy of identification when returning the “Form of Guarantee” document and the Guarantor will be supplied with a draft copy of the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement for perusal. We recommend that you pass a copy of these “Guidance Notes for Students 2008” onto your guarantor, prior to reserving a property. PIKES ESTATE AGENTS allow 14 days, from the date of sending for completed guarantor forms to be returned to our office. After this period we reserve the right to offer the property to other prospective tenants. RESERVATION Once you have selected a property, your whole group must call into our office together, to each fully complete a Reservation Agreement including, a photocopy of: - Passport, Driving Licence, or Birth Certificate, together with your University Card ID and bank details, plus each student will be asked to pay a £35.25 (Incl. VAT) Tenancy Fee which is a one off payment being a contribution to our costs in preparing the tenancy agreement to hold the property. PROPERTY CONDITION By signing the Student Reservation Agreement, you are agreeing that you have viewed the property. Please do not make any automatic assumptions about its condition, the decorations or what contents will or will not be included in your tenancy, as if the property is currently let, some of what you have seen may belong to the present occupiers. Please ask us now if you are in any doubt or have particular requests, rather than raising them at the last minute, so that we can resolve matters in advance. At the start of your tenancy you will have the opportunity to check a detailed inventory of the property, its condition and contents, in some cases we are able to make this available in advance, but this is not always possible. If you are unhappy, you should not reserve the property as the above is not open to negotiation at a later date. Once the tenancy commences, if we are managing the property, your deposit will be held in our Clients Account (as “Stakeholders” no interest paid) otherwise it will be passed on to the Landlord for holding. On or before signing the commencement of the tenancy, PIKES ESTATE AGENTS need to have received From each student in the group the following: £350.00 deposit (Unless stated otherwise within the property description) in cleared funds, (you must allow 10 days for personal cheques to clear) Pikes Estate Agents are a member of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, which is administered by: The Dispute Service Ltd PO Box 541 Amersham Bucks HP6 6ZR Phone 0845 226 7837 Email deposits@tds.gb.com fax 01494 431 123 Completed “Form of Guarantee”, together with a copy of Identification First month’s rent in cleared funds, i.e. cash or bank/building society draft (you must allow 10 days for personal cheques to clear) Identification (Photocopy of:- Passport, Driving Licence or Birth Certificate, together with your University Card ID £35.25 (incl. VAT) Payable upon reservation The Tenancy Agreement signed by all the tenants in the group. You should note that your legal responsibility for the tenant’s obligations set out in the Agreement is “joint and several”. This means that each individual in the group can be held responsible for the total rent payable, and for any damage caused to the property. In other words the landlord’s contract is with you as a single group, not with several separate tenants, and so it is important that you are all sure that you want to rent a property together. Please note that this is the normal basis on which single properties are let, by other agents, as well as Pike's Estate Agents Thank you for your enquiry regarding PIKES ESTATE AGENTS letting service for students.  The following information is designed to help answer your questions and set out some of the obligations, which you will have if you decide to rent through PIKES ESTATE AGENTS.