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New planning laws for HMO properties

From 6th April 2010 planning permission will be needed for any material change of use from C3 to C4. This does not apply to existing properties that are already rented to students.

Any landlord submitting an application for change of use, who intend to rent and register with Chichester University students and join the Landlords Accreditation Scheme can contact the University for a letter of support to attached to their application.

Council Tax procedures

Arun and Chichester have different exception criteria for final year students. Please see the links below for further information. If you require any additional information please contact either Arun or Chichester District Council or the University.

Chichester District Council Tax information

Arun District Council Tax Information

Important Information for Students in Halls

You have possessions insurance now which is due to expire* and you need to take action to maintain your insurance protection.

Sign up now to buy next year’s possessions insurance for the equivalent of £1 a month.

You do not have to pay anything now.
If you qualify we will send you a voucher entitling you to 12 months possessions insurance for only £12. To find out if you qualify visit: www.endsleigh.co.uk

*The possessions insurance arranged for you by your accommodation provider is due to expire when you move out of your current accommodation.
You must sign up before 17th July 2009 to take advantage of this offer.
Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. This can be checked on the FSA Register by visiting its website at www.fsa.gov.uk
Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited. Company No: 856706 registered in England at Shurdington Road, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucestershire, GL51 4UE.

Rented housing advice from students at Chichester

Accommodation office on Facebook

House Hunting

When you are searching for properties on the accommodation website there is now the option to save a link to the property on your facebook profile, and show your friends and fellow housemates the property you are considering renting. Ideal for getting feedback on your house hunting efforts or just to share.

All property searches you carry out, and advertised properties you are interested in, can now easily be shared with your friends on Facebook.

Just click the Facebook 'f' symbol on those pages and you'll be able to post the link to your profile and share with your friends.

Accommodation Events

The Facebook page includes information about university events throughout the year. This includes dates of the housing fair, the start date for house hunting next year, news of Accommodation campaigns and projects.

Visit accommodation Facebook page.

Your safety

We would always advise against putting contact and personal details such as your telephone number or the address of your house on Facebook. If you want to post information about room or properties for rent, we would suggest you use the university noticeboard via the Admissions Portal (prospective students)or via Portia (returning students), which is moderated and also free.

Guidance Policy

The accommodation office will remove any posts that are likely to offend. If a comment is offensive, abusive or contravenes the Universities ‘Equal Opportunities Policy’ then it shall be deleted and the user ‘blocked’ from using the group if necessary.

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Energy Performance Certification (EPCs) in Student Housing and Accommodation

Guidance on EPCs for rented dwellings has now been published and is available on the CLG website this article comments on this Guidance.

Page 16 of the Guidance says under "Determining the type of EPC required" states:

"Dwellings in multiple occupation: Where individual rooms in a building are rented out and there are shared facilities (eg kitchen and/or bathroom), an EPC is not required. This because an EPC is only required on the rental of a building or part of a building designed or altered to be used separately. Renting a room does not meet the ‘part of a building’ definition."

A number of case studies are then given and the important ones for student housing are:

"A house or flat is rented by a number of tenants who have exclusive use of their bedrooms but share a kitchen and bathroom. In this case each tenant has a contract with the landlord for the parts they have access to, but not for a whole dwelling. An EPC is therefore not required each time a tenant moves, although one will be required for the whole house if it is sold, rented as a whole or constructed."This says that EPCs are not required at all for those renting rooms within a building (such as a cluster flat or house) when they are let individually.

The second says:

"A group of friends rent a property and there is a single contract between the landlord and the group as the contract is for the rental of a whole dwelling."