Featured Property
Students
We have a large selection of student shared houses, studios and flats ranging from 1 bedroom to 15 bedrooms located in Headingley, Hyde Park and Burley. We can also mix and match houses located close to each other for even larger groups of friends. Some properties are deposit free,and we can offer all inclusive deals which include gas, electric, water, broadband and TV licence in the rent!
If this is the first time you will be searching for somewhere to live whilst you are a student, there are some things you need to consider.
Area
Decide which area you want to be in, do you want to be near to your campus so you can get out of bed late? Or do you want to be close to the action in Headingley - just a stone's throw from the bars and pubs? Or do you want to live near all your friends? We can mix and match houses so that large groups can live near each other.
Price
Is cost the most important thing? Headingley is slightly more expensive than Hyde Park, which is more expensive than Woodhouse, which is more expensive than Burley, which is more expensive than Meanwood. Prices in 2011 will range from £60.00 to £90.00 per person per week without bills. You may wish to consider an all inclusive deal so that you don't have to worry about bills where your water, gas, electric, TV licence and broadband are all included in the price! Talk to our negotiators to get a good deal!
Group size
Remember you don't really know someone until you live with them so think about your choice of housemates carefully; we have one bed flats to ten bed houses.
If things go badly wrong you can't just walk away unless you are prepared to pay the rent to the end of your tenancy. You would have to find someone suitable to replace you and pay a cancellation fee. Talk to us first, we may be able to help.
All Inclusive – Rent and bills
It is possible to have an all inclusive deal when you have chosen your house. This means that the landlord or agent pays the gas, electric and water bills and possibly broadband and TV Licence. You can expect this to cost from £15.00 to £20.00 extra per person per week.
Tenancy Agreements And The Legal Stuff
You will have to sign an assured shorthold tenancy agreement together with your housemates. When more than one person is named on the agreement your liability becomes joint and several, this means that everyone is responsible for ensuring the rent gets paid. If one person defaults you are all still responsible. This is why we insist on guarantors for all our tenants. Your guarantor agrees to pay any sum of rent that you have defaulted on but they are not responsible for anyone else named on the agreement.
An assured shorthold tenancy agreement is a legally binding document and you cannot just walk away from the obligations under the contract. If for any reason you do not wish to take up your place you must either pay the rent to the end of the contract or find someone to take your place.We are the first port of call if anything goes wrong and we will do all we can to help you resolve the problem.
Landlords want their properties let for 52 weeks of the year, whilst you were in halls you probably had a 43 week contract, but in the private sector tenancies generally start 1st July to 30th June the following year.
Signing Fees
You will have to pay a signing fee when you sign a contract to cover administration costs.
Bonds (deposits)
A bond is a sum of money paid to the landlord which the landlord holds for the period of the tenancy as security against damages and breaches of contract such as non-payment of rent and other conditions. On certain properties you will not have to pay a bond, this is the landlord's decision. When a bond has been taken it must be registered with one of the approved government protection schemes. We at Central Properties use the extrernal government approved scheme, MyDeposits.
HMO's
An HMO is a House in Multiple Occupancy which is licensed by Leeds City Council and has to comply with standards and regulations set by the Council. An HMO is a property which is occupied by 5 or more people on 3 or more stories.
Unlike other agents who tend to pass on these fees to their tenants, we at Central Properties do not charge you any fees regarding these licences.
Help and Advice
We are here to help you enjoy your time at university and we pride ourselves on being friendly and helpful. We will take the time to talk to you and help you find the right house for YOU, and it doesnt stop there, we are here to help with everything - be it maintenance, problems with housemates (all we can do is dispense advice), the dreaded bills, and who to contact if you need help with other issues we can't help with.
Parents
We are parents too (well most of us here) and we have gone through everything your parents are going through. Yes we know about rogue landlords and letting agencies who run off with your bonds. Well we are different! We care very much that you like us enough to want to stay with us next year and that you will recommend us to all your friends. We are members of Leeds City Council Landlords Accreditation Scheme, Residential Landlords Association, Leeds Landlords Association, and NALS.
