Considering renting?

You have decided who you want to live with in your second year.  You have found a great student house for just the right rent.  You have also managed to get a house in your perfect location.  You are ready for the rite of passage of living in a house.  However, do you really know what your tenancy agreement means?  Do you really know what you have agreed to? That clause where you think you know what it means but you are not quite sure?

Sound familiar?  There is nothing wrong in admitting that you are not 100 per cent sure what your tenancy agreement means, whether you are a first-time renter or have rented previously.  Every tenancy agreement differs, so it is important that you understand what your tenancy agreement means for you.

The University of Manchester Students’ Union Advice Service offers a free tenancy agreement checking service.  If you email your tenancy to the Service, an advisor can check the clauses to make sure you are aware of what you are about to sign.  The advisor will also make you aware of any clauses that are not legally enforceable.  So before you sign your tenancy agreement, get your tenancy agreement checked.

The Advice Service are often rather busy so can’t always check an agreement straight away.  When you email your tenancy agreement, please let the Advice Service know when you need a response by.  Often landlords use pressure tactics of “if you don’t sign now someone else will sign”.

However, you can ask for time to get your agreement checked.  If the landlord is reluctant to let you do this and is pressuring you to sign there and then, you may want to think about if you are willing to sign a legally binding agreement without first getting advice.

If you have already signed a tenancy agreement, you can still get your tenancy agreement checked so you are aware of what you have agreed to.  If you do want your tenancy agreement checked, please email it over to [email protected]