Moving In

1. What to pay

You will need to have paid your full security deposit and rent for the first month of your tenancy a few days - ideally 72 hours - before the start date of your tenancy.

Details of the exact amounts due are in the email we sent to you with your Tenancy Agreement.

2. What to Bring (and what not to bring)

You will of course bring your personal belongings and toiletries.  We don't supply bed linen, pillows or towels so you will need to bring those too. 

We advise against bringing too much other equipment (pots, pans, cutlery, irons, ironing boards, clothes dryers etc) that might be used in the common parts.  There should already be a reasonable quantity of this kind of stuff and we often end up with multiple items. Better to move in, see if there is anything missing that you need, and then procure them at that point.

When we first tenanted the house we would have supplied a set of crockery, cutlery, pots and pans, glassware, mugs, knives, chopping boards etc.  We also supply a toaster, kettle, iron and ironing board.  Over time we suspect that while some of the original set has gone missing, it has also been augmented by each generation of tenants, so generally most properties have a full complement of basic equipment.

The existing housemates will point you in the right direction of how storage space in the kitchen is allocated.

3. Common Parts

Your room is yours’ to arrange how you like and store whatever belongings you have. The kitchen cupboards also have space for your food, crockery and utensils.

But please do not store anything in the common parts, cupboards or hallways. These need to be kept free for our maintenance equipment and to avoid fire and trip hazards.

And we want to avoid the build up of any general clutter including in the kitchen, lounge and on the kitchen surfaces otherwise they become impossible to keep clean and maintain.

4. shared items / Cleaning Rota / communications

Once you move in, we presume you will agree a plan with your housemates to purchase common items like toilet rolls, detergent etc. 

You will also need to help to keep the property clean and tidy.  Whilst our cleaner visits every two weeks to clean the common areas, this is too infrequent to ensure the property remains clean in the meantime.  You will need to clean the the kitchen, bathroom and lounge after you use them.  The golden rule is leave them as you would like to find them.

5. Introduction to your housemates

We will send an email introducing you to your new housemates.

Most properties have a WhatsApp group or similar for communications.  Your housemates will often know more than we do about some aspects of the property so if you have questions, feel free to ask them.

6. Enjoying Your Room / hanging pictures

We don't mind you putting up pictures in your room as long as you use 'Command Strips' which do not mark our walls and avoid the need for repainting when you move out.  You must not use bluetac, sellotape or nails / screws or anything else that marks the walls. It costs us £500 to redecorate a room which we are sure you would not want deducted from your deposit. Click here for more info Command Strips

We also don't mind you changing the position of your furniture as long as you return it to our original orientation when you give notice to vacate so we can present it to prospective tenants in our preferred layout. And our lay-out will be the one that best suits the room shape anyway and fits best with the switches and sockets.

But please don’t drag furniture across our wooden floors and risk scratching them. You will need help to move furniture, lifting rather than dragging, into your preferred position.

7. vital house information

There is a sign in the kitchen that lists our contact details, the locations of shut off valves to turn off the gas, water and electricity in an emergency and some other useful information like the password for the internet. We will send you the same information on a webpage.

The need to shut off services will probably never arise, but please ensure you know their locations so if, for example the property springs a serious leak, you know where the stop-cock is to prevent serious damage to the property.

The time to be familiar with these things is before an emergency actually arises!

8. Insurance

Whilst we insure the building itself, we do not provide insurance for your personal belongings in the event of fire, theft, flood or other loss or damage so please buy your own insurance if this is important to you.

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That’s it. We hope all the above makes sense and we hope you have a smooth and enjoyable move in. Give us a shout if you need help or guidance with anything.

Andrew and Matt