Anyone have DC at Reading? Shared house tenancy question...

[kittykittykitty5]

How difficult has it been for your DC to find a shared house and what type of tenancy do you have? Do you have joint or individual tenancies?

Thanks x

Hi. No DC at Reading but when a student shares a house with other students, generally, they are equally and jointly liable. You, as a parent, will be your DC's guarantor. This, I think, is pretty standard for student shared houses.

When does your DC want the shared house? It is fairly early to start looking for 2017. In lots of university cities, the student property comes onto the market over Chirstmas ready for students to start looking in January. Not sure if this applies to Reading but the student let agencies will know what the score is. You can register with them so you get property alerts when the properties become available for the size you want - 3 beds, 6 beds etc. Has your DC got friends to share with? Or is your DC looking to move into a room right now, which may be hugely problematic as everyone has their houses and is occupying them.

I used to regularly drive past one of the letting agencies near Reading University, and by this time of year it was open in the evenings and would be full of students, so I guess people start looking earlier than Christmas here.

Both my dc at universities elsewhere already have their houses sorted for next year. We're guarantors for them, and they have joint tenancies.

The more difficult it is to find good property, the earlier bookings will open. In my undergraduate years I was in a city where the student population out numbers the non students and the busiest time for securing next year's accommodation was around Christmas. Postgraduate I was in a town where the university was much less dominant (small uni, big town) and when I approached letting agents at what I thought was the proper time I was laughed at and told to come back in September if I didn't need the place till October.