Frequently Asked Questions

Pre-Tenancy

1. What do I do if I would like to view one of Home Accommodation’s properties?

Either come into our office, contact us via the website or telephone 0114 268 54 54 to arrange a viewing. To protect the privacy and safety of the current tenants we do not encourage groups to call directly at the property to arrange their own viewing.

2. How do I sign for the property?

We will prepare our Shorthold Tenancy Agreement for you to sign. We can email a copy for you/your family to look through and when you are happy, you can make an appointment to sign as a group. This agreement is joint and several which means that you are each jointly responsible for the property and the rent for the term of the tenancy. 

We also require a security deposit and admin fee when signing for the property.

3. What do you do with my deposit?

All deposits are registered with the Deposit Protection Service www.depositprotection.com and held by them for the duration of the tenancy.

4. Are bills included in the rent?

We offer the option of an all inclusive tenancy. The all inclusive rent includes gas, water and electricity bills subject to fair useage, any excessive useage will be charged back to the tenants.

5. Do you only offer student accommodation?

All Home Accommodation properties are available to both professionals and students. We have a selection of larger properties which tend to be more suitable for groups of students and find that our smaller flats located close to the City Centre, Broomhill and Crookesmoor are very popular with professionals.

Tenancy

1. What do I do about repairs or problems?

Our office is open 9am - 5pm weekdays for tenants to report any maintenance issues. 

All maintenance should be reported in writing either to info@homeaccommodation.co.uk or via the maintenance report form on our website.

We take a pride in our properties and therefore run a comprehensive refurbishment scheme for those that need work. It is important to us to deal with repairs quickly and efficiently in order to maintain the standard of the property and the positive relationship with tenants.

We employ a maintenance team who are familiar with our properties and can respond quickly to problems. More complex work is undertaken by established and carefully selected contractors.

2. What about green issues?

All of our properties are double or secondary glazed and well insulated to help reduce fuel bills and to aid energy conservation. In the new build properties we have also installed the energy efficient condensing boilers.

3. What if I want to leave before the contract finishes?

Legally you cannot do this. However if you find someone to take your place it is possible to alter the contract. If you are sharing you will need written consent from your housemates.

4. Who pays Council Tax?

Unless otherwise stated in your contract all bills, including Council Tax, are the tenants responsibility. However, if you are a full time student you are usually exempt from Council Tax.

5. Can we put a satellite dish up?

You will need the Landlords consent and may have to take it down at the end of your contract. You may also be charged for the making good of any damages caused by having the satellite dish.

6. Can I re-decorate my room?

No, we use professional decorators. If you decorate any room in the property without telling us you will be charged for the room to be re-decorated.

7. What do I do about utility bills?

In most of our properties the utilities are included in the rent so you need to do nothing! If in a property where you are responsible for the bills you will need to contact your suppliers when moving in and set up the accounts in your names. Details on how to do this can be found here on our website.

8. Do I need a TV license?

Yes, you will need to purchase a TV license in order to watch TV in your property however only 1 license is required for the property regardless of how many TV sets you have.

Post-Tenancy

1. What do I do to get my deposit back?

If your utilities are included in your rent and are on an assured shorthold tenancy your deposit is held by the DPS. The lead tenant needs to log onto the website www.depositprotection.com and request the return of the deposit. If you are not on an assured shorthold tenancy agreement the deposit needs to be requested back directly from the landlord.

If utilities are not included in your rent we require proof that the utilities have been paid up until the end of your tenancy. This proof can come in either the form of either a letter from your supplier or your final bill and a stamp from the post office stating the amount that has been paid. Once this has been received the same steps are followed as with all inclusive tenancies (see above)