{"id":10586,"date":"2020-03-05T18:19:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T18:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/?p=10586"},"modified":"2020-11-24T11:35:06","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T11:35:06","slug":"5-things-to-look-at-when-considering-private-accommodation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/5-things-to-look-at-when-considering-private-accommodation\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things to look at when considering private accommodation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tenancy Period<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you start to consider private accommodation and start doing your research, you\u2019ll&nbsp;realise&nbsp;that most private accommodations have&nbsp;a range of tenancy periods that they offer. Most properties will offer either a&nbsp;44-week&nbsp;tenancy or a&nbsp;52-week&nbsp;tenancy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A shorter tenancy agreement means that at the end of your tenancy period, you will have to move out for the summer. Some private accommodations may let you leave your room as it is, if you rebook the same room, however in case you are moving rooms, you will have to vacate the room at the end of the summer. Local and International students must consider this when they are signing their lease agreement as well as during rebooking.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most&nbsp;52 week&nbsp;tenancy agreements last over the summer and end sometime in September. This means that you don\u2019t have to worry about moving out before the summer but this does mean that you will have to come back in September around the date when your tenancy agreement ends so that the accommodation can then clean your apartment and lease it out again.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before making this decision, keep two aspects in your mind, cost and stress.&nbsp;As a local student or an international student, you must evaluate if you&nbsp;are capable&nbsp;of packing&nbsp;your room up and arranging for your belongings to be stored over the summer. Don\u2019t get me wrong, it isn\u2019t that hard, many students opt for the&nbsp;44-week&nbsp;tenancy agreement and either store their belongings at their friend\u2019s, or a few students come together and split the cost of a storage unit. Evaluate if it would be cheaper for you to take the&nbsp;52-week&nbsp;tenancy period or a storage unit.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Price<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Depending on your budget, you will find a range of prices and properties that will suit your&nbsp;budget&nbsp;needs. Most prices per week are either higher or lower depending on:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Type of room&nbsp;<\/li><li>Property&nbsp;<\/li><li>The floor<\/li><li>Tenancy Agreement <\/li><li>Location<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking from experience, first create a budget based on how much rent you would ideally&nbsp;like to pay. After&nbsp;that,&nbsp;shortlist a few private accommodations you liked.&nbsp;From experience, you should  first, based on your budget eliminate accommodations that spread across your budget. Each accommodation will have a range of rooms whose price will range. Have a look on the website and see what rooms fit your budget.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-01-at-5.53.20-PM-1024x910.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10589\" width=\"478\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-01-at-5.53.20-PM-1024x910.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-01-at-5.53.20-PM-300x266.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-01-at-5.53.20-PM-768x682.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-01-at-5.53.20-PM.png 1576w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 478px) 100vw, 478px\" \/><figcaption><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Facilties <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;If you\u2019re going to pay significantly higher than a house for a private accommodation, you might as well make sure that you get your worth out of it!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The basic facilities that your private accommodation should be&nbsp;providing&nbsp;is&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Laundry&nbsp;<\/li><li>24hr security&nbsp;<\/li><li>Postal service&nbsp;<\/li><li>High Speed Wi-Fi&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The extra facilities that you should look for is gym,&nbsp;social space, smoking area,&nbsp;study area,&nbsp;and&nbsp;terrace.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/didnt-go-to-the-gym-today-but-the-cashiers-name-18331038.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10591\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/didnt-go-to-the-gym-today-but-the-cashiers-name-18331038.png 500w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/didnt-go-to-the-gym-today-but-the-cashiers-name-18331038-287x300.png 287w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Distance from school <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no point paying extra to stay in a lush accommodation if you\u2019re going to have to spend more on transportation&nbsp;or walk 30&nbsp;minutes in the rain. You can check the distance between your school and accommodation on google maps. An ideal walking distance between the both should be 15-25 minutes.&nbsp;However,&nbsp;anything more than that, means you\u2019ll&nbsp;be either&nbsp;tempted to take the bus or miss class when you look out your window on Monday&nbsp;morning and see the rain!&nbsp;It rains in Cardiff almost&nbsp;every day&nbsp;and you should remember that while deciding on your&nbsp;accommodation.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Unknown.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10595\" width=\"424\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Unknown.png 225w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Unknown-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Unknown-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Unknown-40x40.png 40w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Unknown-200x200.png 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 424px) 100vw, 424px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Location <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nobody loves carrying a heavy Tesco bag and walking for 30 minutes. When you decide on an accommodation, make sure you look around for local grocery&nbsp;stores,&nbsp;pharmacies,&nbsp;restaurants&nbsp;and etc.&nbsp;Initially this won\u2019t seem like a big deal, however as you settle in and&nbsp;realise&nbsp;how quickly milk and bread finish, you\u2019ll regret not thinking about this before. Your accommodation doesn\u2019t need to be central, but before you make your decision, check how far&nbsp;some local stores like the following are:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Tesco&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><li>Sainsbury&nbsp;<\/li><li>Boots&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><li>Spar<\/li><li>Lidl<br><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"514\" height=\"597\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Picture-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Picture-1.png 514w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/Picture-1-258x300.png 258w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 514px) 100vw, 514px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout the process of deciding your accommodation, remember that it will be your home for the next year.&nbsp;You&#8217;re potentially going to be spending a lot of time there.&nbsp;So&nbsp;make sure that you are fully certain&nbsp;when you book your room as it will have a great impact at your university&nbsp;experience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tenancy Period When you start to consider private accommodation and start doing your research, you\u2019ll&nbsp;realise&nbsp;that most private accommodations have&nbsp;a range of tenancy periods that they offer. Most properties will offer [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":1771,"featured_media":10587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[696],"tags":[84,1000,194],"class_list":["post-10586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice-for-students","tag-first-year","tag-private-accommodation","tag-students"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1771"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10586"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12368,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10586\/revisions\/12368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}