The Benefits of All-Inclusive Student Accommodation in Leeds
Moving into a new place, whether it’s round the corner from your parents’ house or hundreds of miles away from your hometown, can often come with many expected (and unexpected) stresses and strains. Packing everything from your clothes to your gadgets, ensuring you have all the paperwork done and getting the money together for a deposit are all necessary.
In Leeds, as is the case in many other university cities in the UK, there are many different types of accommodation to choose from, but in relation to cost and convenience, which is best? For many who are cost-conscious and averse to filling in umpteen forms, there is an option that could help to put both of those worries at bay.
For students coming from all parts of the country and beyond, it makes perfect sense to consider living in all-inclusive student accommodation. It takes care of some of the pesky things associated with renting a property like paying bills and maintenance costs, but what does all-inclusive actually mean and why is it beneficial for students in particular?
We take a look at what you can expect from an all-inclusive property and discuss its many benefits.
Why Students Should Consider All-Inclusive Accommodation
Something many people living on their own or as part of a house-share will no doubt worry about is making room in their budgets for paying their utility bills. With many providers of gas and electricity, costs tend to shift from one month to the next, depending on how much you use at the time. In winter, you’ll probably use more to keep warm, but that means more to pay out.
Fortunately, the guesswork and constant budgeting for expenses that can often fluctuate is taken out by living in an all-inclusive property. Having gas, electricity and water bills included in your rental costs will help make it easier to set money aside for such things as food, textbooks, printing and bus fares.
Aside from removing any possible uncertainty about having money left over for utility costs, it also means less to worry about when it comes to other essentials of student living, including being connected to the internet. Being online is an absolute necessity for revision, research, keeping in touch with your friends and, yes, even for social media.
All properties managed by RentInc can be fitted with superfast broadband if you need it. This means you’re able to download big files such as PDFs of research papers, stream movies and albums in a matter of seconds and not have to wait ages for a webpage to appear. In having your internet sorted, you’re able to get surfing as soon as you move in!
The Benefits of Living in an All-Inclusive Property
There are many reasons why moving into an all-inclusive student property makes sense. Here, we look at the various ways in which you stand to benefit from doing so, as opposed to paying for rent alone and sorting out all the extras like utilities, broadband and subscription TV yourself.
Less Shopping Around
By moving into an all-inclusive house or flat, you’re saving yourself a potentially huge amount of hassle in finding a gas, electricity, broadband and broadband provider. For the first two, it can involve a lot of shopping around to ensure you’re getting the best possible deal and will inevitably result in many phone calls and visits to your property before getting connected.
Less Waiting Around
While we’re on the subject of getting hooked up to the web, many providers can take days, if not weeks to come round to your property and get you online. This is an inconvenience that many students looking for the tool they’ll need the most for studying cannot do with.
Waiting for a broadband provider to come round and sort your wiring and Wi-Fi box out can be challenging, especially if you need to do some research for an essay, presentation or, worse still, your dissertation. Fortunately, in moving into an all-inclusive student property, you’re saved from having to go through all that, which is handy if you’re time-conscious.
Less Form-Filling
With sorting out utilities, broadband and other such things like contents insurance and maintenance contracts, you have to fill in several forms for each service. If you’re worried about getting something wrong while completing paperwork or just don’t have the time or patience to fill a form in, all-inclusive student property is definitely for you!
By choosing a property from RentInc, you only have to fill in one form. That’s to agree to rent the property in the first place, with insurance, gas/electricity, water and broadband taken care of!
Furnishings are Sorted
Aside from all the utilities, internet and insurance, another part of all-inclusive student property’s allure is that they’re fully furnished from top to bottom. By fully furnished, we mean:
- Chairs, tables and sofas
- Single and/or double beds
- Electrical appliances such as fridge freezers, ovens, washing machines and induction hobs
- Shelving units
- Wardrobes and drawers for your clothes
What this means is that you won’t have to go shopping in cavernous furniture shops with your parents just before you move into your new place. That’ll save a few quid as well as a few hours of your life!
Student Council Tax and Utility Bills
Where all the important forms and expenses are concerned, what do you need to know? If you’re a full-time student living at one of our all-inclusive properties, you won’t have to pay council tax. If, however, you study on a part-time basis, it’s best to get in touch with the council. Leeds City Council have a page on the subject of students and council tax here.
To gain exemption from paying council tax, if you’re studying at any of the three universities in Leeds, have your student ID number handy when speaking to the council over the phone.
As we have already mentioned, the costs of gas, electricity and water are all included in the rental costs. Aside from saving you the hassle of finding suppliers and setting up separate direct debits, you’ll also have something less to worry about.
However, it’s important to be responsible when using all three, so make sure you use what you need for a shower, cooking and keeping warm. This will not only save energy, but will also ensure that all your connections are safe. We do have a fair usage policy, which if breached will result in extra charges.
Other Expenses
We have installed Virgin Media business broadband in our ALL INC properties, should you wish to take out any optional extras you will have to arrange this with Virgin Media Business directly and pay for it yourselves.
As for other things including small appliances, bedding and kitchen utensils, we don’t include any of these. You need to bring your own to the property when the day comes to move in.
Paperwork
As utilities are taken care of, the amount of paperwork involved in renting an all-inclusive student property is limited. Depending on how many hours per week you’re studying, you may have to fill in a council tax form just in case. You will definitely, however, need to fill in the following forms for renting an all-inclusive property:
- A direct debit for weekly or monthly rent payments
- A tenancy agreement document, which you need to read before signing
If there is any other paperwork involved, we will notify you and your housemates within a reasonable timeframe. Thankfully, there isn’t too much filling in for you to do, so you’ll have more time to settle into your new digs and worry about the important stuff - studying, making friends and getting used to life in Leeds!