Private Accommodation Providers
Here at the University of Exeter, we aim to connect students who are looking for a place to live in the city with private accommodation providers, such as landlords and purpose-built student accommodation.
We manage the Exeter Studentpad search website, which provides a platform for private accommodation providers to advertise their properties. We promote Studentpad to students through the many communication channels at the university, including:
- University and Accommodation student newsletters
- Various social media channels including the Accommodation Facebook page
- Accommodation and Students’ Guild websites
- The Accommodation blog
- On-campus advertising such as plasma screens and leaflets
- In-person advice events and drop-ins
Take a look below to find out how to register and advertise on Studentpad.
Move Smart Campaign
To help students find accommodation after their first year of study, we run an annual Private Accommodation campaign, Move Smart, which is a collaborative project involving the University Accommodation, Residence Life and Community Engagement teams, plus the Students’ Guild Advice Team. The campaign has a full communication plan to ensure that students are signposted to information regarding finding accommodation and the Studentpad site is heavily promoted as part of this campaign.
This campaign also offers an opportunity for landlords and PBSAs to come onto campus and showcase their property directly to students who are actively looking for housing after their first year. To find out more about these events, please contact studentpromotions@exeter.ac.uk.
What Accommodation are students looking for?
Good quality private rented accommodation, including:
| Resident Landlord/Host Family (Lodgings) | Shared Houses or flats (including "Houses in Multiple Occupation") | Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSAs) |
|
Convenient for students who are coming to the University for a short period, such as Erasmus (European) students and Postgraduate students. These students typically need accommodation from September to December/January or January to May/June, and begin their accommodation search from April. |
Appealing to students after their first year of study. Groups will normally look for shared houses/flats for the next academic year from October onwards.
Landlords can offer assured shorthold tenancies for the whole academic year. Contracts are normally based around the University's term dates. |
Appealing to students after their first year of study and those who enjoyed the 'all-inclusive' aspects of University accommodation. Groups or individuals will often start their search from October onwards. |
| Houses in multiple occupation (HMO) | The government’s Tenancy and Deposit information |
| The legal responsibilities of a landlord | Fire Safety Risk Assessment |
| Renting a room/rooms in my own home | The National Residential Landlords Association |
| Gas safety as a landlord in line with the Gas Safe Register | The South West Landlord Association |
| Electrical safety – what landlords need to know | Council tax exemption for students |
All private landlords in England are required to make right to rent checks, which means checking that their prospective tenants have the right to be in the UK. Landlords who do not make the checks could be fined up to £3,000 if they rent out a property to someone who is in the UK illegally.
Find more detailed information about when you need to make right to rent checks and what are acceptable documents, on these government webpages: 'What they mean for you' and 'Check your tenants right to rent'.
Our advice to students can be found here.
Where to find information about a student status
The University is only able to provide information about a student's status directly to the student, so please ask your prospective tenant to make a request via SID to confirm their student status.
The Home Office has advised that any landlord needing confirmation of a student’s immigration status should obtain this directly from them by using the landlord’s checking service.
The Studentpad website is a platform to advertise properties directly to students. By registering with Studentpad, you can place and manage your advert(s) and upload your gas and EPC certificates through Studentpad.
Advertising Costs
Advertising a shared property costs £50.00 (per property) for a 12 month period, or just £20.00 if it is a room in your own home.
For agents or large providers with up to 10 properties, there is an unlimited advertising option priced at £500.00 for the year (£750.00 for agents/large providers with 10 or more properties). For full payment terms and FAQs, please login to Studentpad and click ‘Resources’.
Advertising Payment
Payment will need to be made online via the University of Exeter Online Store. Please note that this is a separate site from Studentpad and you will need to enter new registration details.
Take a look at the 'How to pay for an advert through the online store' video to help guide you through this process.
Once payment is made we will aim to advertise your property within 5 working days. If you contact us before we have processed your advert requesting to cancel the advert we will refund your fee, however, if we have started to process your request no refund will be issued.
The Accommodation Team are available by telephone on 01392 723444 between 9:00am - 5:00pm Monday to Friday to offer support or advice to private accommodation providers.
When registered with Studentpad, you can access the landlord Forum, an online message board to share advice and information and the Library which is full of useful resources.
