Love Island’s Andrew Le Page gives advice on how to deal with problems in a student house

Here’s how to get your deposit back or whatever x

1 year ago

Andrew Le Page is providing university students with all they need to know when it comes to renting. Every student deals with a housing nightmare of some sort, and are often left to their own devices. The estate agent, who appeared on Love Island 2022, has shared his best tips when it comes to helping students out in a truly hellish student house.

Whether it’s landlords letting themselves in with no notice or mouldy bathrooms, Andrew Le Page has given students a heads up on what to do in any situation they may face when it comes to student houses.

via Instagram @andrewlepage

Speaking exclusively with The Tab, Andrew shared one of the most important things when it comes to student renting at university. You have to genuinely like who you’re going to live with. This may come as no surprise, but if you think about how many times one your coursemates has complained about their housemate, it’ll put into perspective how often people are stuck with people they don’t get along with.

Time is precious when it comes to renting in university cities, but Andrew says “it’s very important” to been keen on the person you’re living with. Don’t rush into it! He told The Tab: “You’re living with them 24/7. You’ve got to enjoy who you’re living with or it doesn’t feel like a home then because it’s then they go to their room, you go to your room and that’s it. It’s crucial to live with someone you actually like and you don’t want to be those people where it’s like, ‘This shelf is mine’. You don’t want to have that environment.”

If there is one thing a university student attest to, it’s experiencing rats or mice in their uni houses. It can happen to the cleanest house but you need to be extremely quick as soon as you notice your bread being nibbled on and it wasn’t by you. As soon as you notice a possible infestation, “immediately call the property manager because they’ll have the right contacts to get the person in to sort it out.”

If for some bizarre reason you know exactly how to get rid of an infestation, Andrew advises to let your landlord or property manager know, but that’s highly unlikely. “More often the case is the property manager will get someone to sort it out because they’ll have the right contacts to get rid of the pests.”

Mould is another issue a lot of students face, and much like when you begin to notice rats, let your property manager or landlord know immediately when you start to notice mould. Andrew explained the first step when you begin to see mould is to “inform your property manager”, and to help prevent the spread of mould, you can try to leave your windows and doors open to air the room out. Andrew said: “It’s the first step you can do to help it. But the landlord should get onto that as soon as possible.”

No matter what you get told, the facts are simple. You need to be given 24 hours notice in writing before anyone comes round to the property! If anyone tries to tell you any different, you hand them the receipts from Andrew. He said: “You’ve got to recieve a letter or email with 24 hours notice that they’re coming whether you are there or not. Usually they’d call you and get confirmation but if they’ve written a letter or email then they can.”

To ensure you get your full deposit, when you first move into a property, because let’s be honest not a lot of students do, “take photos of absolutely everything and send them to your property manager so you have proof of what it was like.” If you notice anything broken in the house when you move in, “take photos and send it to your property manager and say you want it noted.”

Andrew Le Page understands that when it comes to living in student houses, you’re going to party until the cows come home and “you’ve got to live your life and have fun”, but you also have to ensure if you’re throwing parties in your student house, you’ve got to take care of it. So when your tenancy agreement comes to an end, ensure you leave the student house “exactly how it was when you had it.”

At the end of the day, you have to find a student house you’re going to want to live in for a year with hopefully some of your best pals. While you’re busy deciding which of the students houses you want to live in, Andrew Le Page says to visit “at least four or five” student houses so “you can get an idea of what you’re going to get in different areas.”

Andrew told The Tab: “I’d say with properties going pretty quick you don’t want to visit too many but you want a rough idea of what’s in the area. I’d say at least four or five so you can get an idea of what you’re going to get in different areas. You don’t want to rush into anything but at the end of the day you are going to be living there for at least a year so do your research and visit as many properties as you can. You want to find out what suits you, the best area and the value you can get in different areas.”

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