How to blag the best student house for next year

A local estate agent gave us the inside scoop


And so it begins, the rush to find houses kicks off soon. Monkeys have their obligatory housing night, putting the fear of God into every student who hasn’t had THAT conversation with their flatmates yet.

There are two decisions you need to make when you start looking: who you’re going to live with, and where you want to live.

Choosing who to live with next year may be one of the hardest decisions to make at uni. You’ve only been living with your flatmates for the best part of three months, are you really sure you can make it ’til Christmas with them, let alone the next few years?

Or maybe you should take the chance to solidify friendships with people who you don’t already live with, and take the gamble they might be able to put up with your midnight cooking? For those who just haven’t found their group yet, there’s no rush, there are always plenty of scary second years who’ve been ditched with spare rooms. You only have to sleep there after all.

Egham or Englefield Green?

If you want to live in Egham, you need to assess whether you face walking up the hill everyday, and if you can brave climbing through the hole after the SU. If you want to live in Englefield Green, do you really want to be that far from Tesco?

We spoke to Browns estate agents in Englefield Green to find out how to find your perfect house.

How difficult is it to find a house?

Not too difficult but if you have certain requirements or in smaller groups of people you’re best to start looking sooner rather than later.

What is the best piece of advice you could give to students about to start looking for a house?

Be very careful who you choose to live with. Take your time to decide whether you really are going to be compatible and have similar ideas on how to live in a shared house.

How can you reassure students that they will not get the Landlord from hell once they’ve moved in?

Choose a property which is managed professionally if possible. That way you won’t have to deal with a landlord directly and we’re obliged to adhere to high standards of care. Either way though, always ask lots of questions before you sign. For example: fees for contracts, inventories, check ins etc, safety inspections up to date, emergency call out details. When viewing the property ask the current tenants how they are finding things too.

The signs go up

Why would you recommend Holloway students to pick your company over the others on offer?

We’re a small friendly, family-run office open seven days a week who have been renting to RHUL students for over 20 years. Our fees are very competitive and we provide a reliable team of staff and contractors to look after our tenants’ needs.

What is the worst thing left behind in a student house?

We once had mackerel in a toilet cistern and a fish tank that was left with dead fish.