FAQ’S

1. A range of housing to suit all budgets.
2. Premium service.
3. No fees.
4. Bills including high speed broadband included as standard.
5. Houses are fully compliant with housing standards and health and safety laws giving you peace of mind.

Please contact us using the details at the top of this page to see if the house is still available. If it is, we would be happy to arrange either a virtual viewing or an in-person viewing.

If you have viewed (either virtually or in person) a property and would like to reserve it, you will need to pay us a non-refundable holding deposit to secure the property. The holding deposit fee is equivalent to one week’s rent. Following receipt of this, the property will not be offered to anyone else, and you will have 7 days for the whole group to provide your information to us. A full step-by-step sign-up guide will be provided to you following your viewing.

You can only reserve one of our houses if you are reserving all of the bedrooms in the house. If you really like one of our houses, then we would advise that you ask around for people to join your group. Alternatively, have a look at some of the smaller houses which we have available. If you would like to discuss your needs with us, please do give us a call.

Generally, our student houses are rented to groups of 2 to 8 student tenants. If you are looking for an individual room, check out our studio availability which is available to individuals. Alternatively, please contact us to find out what rooms we have available.

The short answer is generally NO. Where our houses are offered all-inclusive, there are no additional or hidden costs to be passed onto tenants. The only fees chargeable are as follows in accordance with the Tenant Fees Act 2019:

Holding Deposit – One week’s rent is required to reserve the property for 14 days to allow the relevant paperwork (including right to rent) for the tenancy to be completed. It will be retained if you withdraw your application/tenancy, provide false/misleading information, or fail to complete the tenancy agreement.
Security Deposit – Our standard deposit amount is £250 (£350 for premium properties) which is protected in an authorized tenancy deposit protection scheme and will be returned in accordance with the terms of your tenancy agreement. This covers damages or defaults on the part of the tenant during the tenancy.
Variation of Contract – If the tenant requests a variation of the contract, and this is agreed with the landlord, a charge of £50 will be payable to cover the costs associated with taking the landlord’s instructions and preparing the amended agreements.
Change of Sharer – If the tenant requests a change of sharer and introduces a replacement tenant to us, then a charge of £50 will be payable per replacement tenant. This is to cover the costs associated with taking the landlord’s instructions, right to rent checks, updating the deposit, and preparing the amended agreements.
Unpaid Rent – Interest will be charged on unpaid rent at 3% above the Bank of England base rate where rent is unpaid for 14 days or more.
Lost Key(s) – Tenants are liable for the cost of replacing any lost keys or other security devices. If the loss results in locks needing to be changed, the actual costs of a locksmith, new lock, and replacement keys for the tenant, landlord, or any other persons requiring keys will be charged to the tenant.
Early Termination – Should the tenant wish to leave their contract early, the cost will be no more than the amount of rent outstanding on the tenancy.

Yes, all of our tenants must have a guarantor.

All of our tenants are required to pay a security deposit. The amount varies by property but is typically £250 for traditional and £350 for premium properties, and this is stated on the advert. The deposit is due before the commencement of the tenancy.

Yes and yes. The deposit required will be £250 per person and will be protected with The Deposit Protection Service. Details of which can be found here: https://www.depositprotection.com/

Our standard tenancy length is 51 weeks. Occasionally, we may offer slightly shorter tenancies when we require the property to do some renovations over the summer.

The holding deposit is an amount equal to one week’s rent and is non-refundable should your group decide not to proceed with the tenancy or unnecessarily delay the set-up of the tenancy. It also won’t be refunded if any of the tenants mislead us as to their suitability to rent the property. We require all tenants to provide their ID and complete our online application form within 7 days of receipt of the holding fee.

The My Student Digs rent schedule provides for monthly payments over the summer months (July, August, September) and then termly payments in line with student loans in October, January, and April of each year.

The tenancy agreement will be sent to all tenants to sign electronically via DocuSign. This can be done on a computer or mobile device.

If you notice any maintenance issues, please report these as soon as possible to us using the contact details at the top of this page.

Yes. Please see the emergencies section of our website by clicking here.

We recognise that circumstances change, and should one of you no longer wish to live in the house, it will be up to you and your group to find a replacement tenant to take over your position on the contract. Once a bona fide replacement is found, we will work with the group and guarantors to update the paperwork. An admin fee of £50 (or our reasonable costs if more) will be chargeable to the outgoing tenant. Should a replacement not be found, then you will need to continue to pay rent in accordance with the tenancy agreement.

If you have rented a property as a group, your tenancy agreement will be joint and several amongst all of the tenants in the group. This means that you are all liable to pay for any damages or rent should one of your group not pay their rent. This is standard practice amongst student lettings. Generally, as long as all tenants pay the rent, then there is no issue. In practice, if one tenant has not paid their rent, we will always try our best to resolve the situation with the individual concerned in the first instance.

We provide a cleaning service of the communal areas for some of our properties. Where this is included, it will be stated in the contract. If you would like cleaning to be included, please ask, and we will be happy to offer the service at an additional cost.

If you cannot pay your rent, it is important that you let us know as soon as possible and speak to your guarantors to assist you. If you do not let us know in advance, interest will be charged at 3% above the Bank of England base rate for rent that is unpaid for 14 days or more, charged for each day that it is outstanding. Rental payments are collected via direct debit. Where a direct debit fails, we will contact you to inform you of this, and the payment will be retried within 7 days. Should the direct debit fail for a second time, we will then contact your guarantor to request payment.

Towards the end of your tenancy, we will be in contact to arrange for a move-out inspection, which can be either before midday on the last day of your tenancy agreement or earlier if requested by you. It is important that you have moved all of your things out of the house and are ready to hand back your keys at this stage. The house must be left in the same state of cleanliness as when you moved in, and all rubbish removed. If your rubbish won’t fit in the bins at this stage, then you will need to take this to the local tip as the council won’t collect it otherwise.

We issue tenants with security keys that cannot be copied. If you lose your key, it is important that you report this to us immediately. Replacement keys will be provided at a cost of £25/key, which can be sent directly to the house or can be collected from our office. In circumstances where the security of the house has been compromised, such as when multiple keys are lost, you may be charged for the change of locks. This is to protect the house and both current and future occupiers.

The majority of our properties are offered with the option of a bills inclusive package. If you are renting a flat or studio within a block, typically utilities are included in the rental amount quoted. In some cases there may be a one-off contribution to make towards the utilities which will be stated on the advert. Where utilities are included, they are subject to a fair usage clause which will be stated in the contract.

Where utilities are included in the rent, a fair usage policy operates. Sadly, energy isn’t free, and if tenants exceed the usage amount contained within the tenancy agreement, tenants will be charged for the extra energy used at the end of the tenancy term. Allowances differ depending on the size and type of property – the bigger the property, the bigger the allowance. Details of your allowance will be stated in your tenancy agreement. Think of it like your mobile data allowance – you have a set amount included in your rent, and if you go over your allowance, you pay for the extra.

The heating controls vary between properties. If you are unsure how to operate the heating, please contact us, and we will be happy to assist. Where our properties are fitted with Inspire Home Automation internet-enabled thermostats, the heating is controlled remotely. We set an online (morning and evening) program between September and May, which is progressively lengthened during the colder months. Tenants have the ability to boost the heating at any time by pressing the boost button, which will turn on the heating for 3 hours or until the next program kicks in if earlier. There is no limit on how often you can boost the heating; however, keep in mind that it is subject to the fair usage clause described above. If you find that the program set is not suitable, then you can email us and request the program to be updated to suit your needs. If you have a Nest thermostat, then you can turn the temperature to the desired level, which will then heat your home to that level for up to 3 hours or until the next program kicks in.

Student Digs provide the large kitchen appliances, vacuum cleaners, and TVs* for each house. We don’t provide kettles, toasters, and microwaves as we find that these often don’t last more than a year. These can be purchased inexpensively by joining together. *NOTE: TVs are provided in all of our premium digs but not all of our traditional digs. If you are renting one of our traditional digs and are unsure, please make sure you check with your portfolio manager before signing your tenancy agreement.

Our first choice for the internet is Virgin fibre broadband. We use this in all houses which Virgin supplies. Some of our houses in Sheffield and Chester are not connected to Virgin and are supplied by either PlusNet or BT.

Students are currently exempt from council tax in the UK. It is the tenants’ responsibility to ensure that they comply with the council exemption requirements and provide information to us or the council if requested.

This depends on whether the utilities are provided by Student Digs or the landlord. Where Student Digs provides energy, the supplier is Huddle Utilities.

Yes, Student Digs uses state of the art management software and trusted contractors to ensure that all necessary certificates are in place for every property. Some certificates will be required to be carried out during the tenancy and we will always give notice of access in advance of these being completed.

All of the properties are insured by the landlord, but if you wish to have insurance for your contents, then you must obtain this independently.

To protect the house and your housemates, all of our properties are strictly non-smoking.

Pets are generally not allowed as they lead to increased damage and wear and tear in the house.