Landlords who are renting to students must adhere to certain terms and conditions to protect both themselves and the tenants who are living in their property. For general advice about renting out a property, please visit GOV.UK.
Right to rent
You must now check to ensure that a tenant or lodger can legally rent your residential property in England.
Before the start of a new tenancy, you must make checks for tenants aged 18 and over. The applies even if they are not named on the tenancy agreement, there is no tenancy agreement or the tenancy agreement is not in writing
You need to complete the check in the 28 days before the start of the tenancy.
For more information, please see the Government's guidance on the right to rent scheme.
To avoid discrimination you must check all tenants at the property using the same procedure. Please see the Government's code of practice for further guidance. Any cases of discrimination will be considered a breach of contract and will be dealt with in line with Southampton Accreditation Scheme for Student Housing guidelines.
If the Home Office has the tenant's documents then you can use the landlord checking service to find out if a tenant is allowed to rent property. To access the service you will need the student's home office reference number.
If you have any further queries or comments please contact Solent's private housing advisor at private.housing@solent.ac.uk, or contact the Government's landlord helpline on 0300 069 9799.
Southampton Accreditation Scheme for Student Housing - SASSH
In partnership with the University of Southampton and Southampton City Council, we have compiled an accredited directory of private student accommodation in Southampton and the surrounding area.
The scheme known as SASSH (Southampton Accredited Scheme for Student Housing) sets out certain criteria, such as having valid gas / electricity safety certificates and smoke detectors, that a landlord must meet and agree to maintain.
In order to be advertised through SASSH you will need to register as a landlord online on the SASSH website and add details of your properties. You will need to return copies of any necessary certification. For more information, please read the registration and accreditation standards.
By registering, you will also be able to utilise a number of features which will help you manage your property. These tools include automatic maintenance reminders, automatic rent reminders for your tenants and safety certificate expiry tracking.
If you have any questions, please contact accommodation@solent.ac.uk.
