The letting year follows the same shape every year, and knowing that shape is most of the battle. It tells you when to look, when it is genuinely worth moving fast, and when the urgency being sold to you is somebody else’s rather than yours. It also stops you signing something in a panic in November that you regret by Easter.
The market wakes up
Not long after the academic year starts, agents begin advertising houses for the following year, and the rumour mill starts insisting everything good will be gone by Christmas. It will not. Lincoln has a large and well supplied student housing market, and decent houses are still available well into the new year.
Use the autumn for the one thing that genuinely matters early: who you want to live with. Groups who know their numbers and their budget move quickly and confidently when the right house appears, and that is worth far more than being first to look.
- Ads start going live
- Sort your group first
- No need to panic
- Good houses left at Christmas
The busy season
The weeks after Christmas are traditionally the busiest part of the letting year. The most sought after houses, usually the ones closest to campus, do go early, so if your group has its heart set on a particular street, this is when to be looking.
View properly even when there is pressure. Never sign for a house you have not seen in person, and be wary of anyone telling you that you must sign today. A legitimate landlord or agent will give you time to read the agreement and arrange guarantors.
- Busiest weeks of the year
- Closest streets go first
- Never sign unseen
- Ignore pressure tactics
The sensible season
Plenty of good houses are still available in spring, often with landlords more open to negotiation as the market settles. It suits groups whose plans changed, students who left the search late, and anyone who would rather choose calmly than competitively.
It is also when current tenants confirm their plans, which brings a fresh wave of properties to the market. A house that was not there in January may well be there in March.
- Plenty still available
- More room to negotiate
- Late changes free houses up
- Choose calmly
Moving time
Most student tenancies in Lincoln turn over in the summer, between the end of one academic year and the start of the next. Leaving the old house means cleaning it properly, photographing every room, taking final meter readings, returning the keys as instructed and making sure the landlord can reach you about your deposit.
Moving into the new one is the same in reverse: check the inventory and photograph everything on day one. Summer is also when deposits from the old house come back, so chase yours if it does not appear in a reasonable time. The deposit protection scheme exists for exactly that, and can step in if there is a dispute.
- Tenancies turn over
- Photograph every room
- Final meter readings
- Deposits come back
Two services worth using
If you are a first year, the university accommodation offices run their own timetables and are the best first port of call. If you are an international student, allow extra time for right to rent checks and for arranging a UK based guarantor or a rent in advance alternative; our international students’ guide covers the options.
Whatever year you are in, your university’s accommodation or advice service will check a tenancy agreement with you before you sign, free of charge. It is one of the most underused services on any campus, and it costs you nothing but the appointment.
- First years: start with the university
- International: allow extra time
Five rules, whatever the month
- Choose your housemates before you choose your house.
- Never sign without viewing in person.
- Never pay money to secure a property you have not verified, and be wary of pressure tactics.
- Read the tenancy agreement, and use your university's free contract checking service.
- Photograph everything at move in and move out.
None of this is complicated, and none of it needs doing in a hurry. If you want to know where we are in the cycle right now, ring the office and ask what is actually on the list, or see how booking works before you start looking.
