Answers to common questions from our tenants

When does my tenancy start and finish?

Please refer to your tenancy agreement for start and finish dates. Please contact us if you need another copy.

How do I know my deposit is safe?

Your deposit is held by Dawson Properties Ltd and insured with mydeposits, a government-authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme. Details of how the scheme works is shown on mydeposits website.

Do I pay reduced rent for the summer?

Yes, there is a discount for the first 8 weeks of the tenancy as long as you are not living at the property. You can store your belongings at the property during this time at your own risk. The discount is for the summer period only and no other holiday periods.

Can I move in early?

If you have not told us on the forms that you are moving in, we may be carrying out upgardes or safety checks on your property. You may not therefore be able to move in. Please contact us and we will do everything we can to help, but we do need to plan to make sure the house is ready for everybody at the right time.

We are not on an inclusive contract, what do we do about utility bills?

At the start of the tenancy we will take the meter readings and notify the current suppliers. You can change suppliers during your tenancy but you must let us know. We will take meter readings on the last day of your tenancy and notify the utility companies.

When is our rubbish collected? What about recycling?

We will e-mail you details of rubbish and recycling information. Northampton Borough Council's website has details of collection days and what can be recycled.

The Council have recently implemented a new collection policy. If you live in a Non-Wheelie bin area (i.e. the town centre) you will only be able to put out 2 green sacks of rubbish per week per house. The council will provide you with these sacks. You will only get enough for 2 a week, if you use more you will run out! If you don’t receive your sacks please contact the council.

The idea is to encourage re-cycling. You should be able to recycle most things. If you haven’t got all the boxes please order them here (you can have more than 1 of each)

The council have said that in the meantime you can put recycling in other containers provided it is clearly marked.

To fit more in please squash plastic bottles and cans, rip up pizza boxes etc.

If the council do not pick up any rubbish or recycling that day please report it to them straight away, you only have 24 hours to do this.

If you leave it out other people will dump rubbish on top of it and you may be fined for fly tipping!

If other people leave rubbish outside your house which I see as quite likely please report it to them straight away.

Please don’t build rubbish up in your back garden, you will get rats, mice, etc. moving in.

If you have excess rubbish you can take it to the recycling centres for free - here are a list of Waste and recycling centres in Northampton.

If your rubbish builds up really badly we may have to arrange to sort it for you. This will be charged to us at a minimum £100 per load as commercial waste, which we would have to pass on to you. The contract does allow for rubbish disposal charges.

Do I need a residents parking permit?

Some town centre streets fall within the council's Residents Parking Permit scheme. Even with a permit you can only park for 2 hours in a 2 hour bay, and 1 hour in a 1 hour bay. Visitors can obtain a Visitors permit but these only start at 10.00am. If they stay overnight you must move the car when parking restrictions start, usually at 8.00am. Normally parking restrictions finish at 6.00pm and start at 8.00am, so anyone can park overnight. They don't usually apply on a Sunday. All restrictions are clearly marked, so do read the sign when you park! The wardens always issue a large number of tickets to students when they come back because they don't read the signs!

How do I know that your houses are of a good standard?

All of our student houses are accredited under the Northampton Student Accreditation Scheme (NSAS), East Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme (EMLAS) and/or licensed as a HMO by Northampton Borough Council and generally greatly exceed the minimum standards laid down. For information about NSAS standards please click here or here for details about houses in multiple occupation.

How do we get the deposits returned?

At the end of the tenancy you must return the house keys to us. All rubbish and belongings must be removed from the house. The house and garden should be left clean and tidy, communal areas are the responsibility of all tenants equally. Should there be any damage or cleaning needed we will Email all the tenants and wait for agreement from the lead tenant. We will Email you a check-sheet of what is needed for your damage deposit to be returned a few weeks before the end of the tenancy. The deposits will be refunded by cheque to the address given to us when you signed up. If this address changes during the tenancy please let us know.

What do we do in an emergency?

Please refer to our "House information folder". This is emailed to the tenants at the beginning of the tenancy. It contains details of emergency procedures e.g. where the mains taps are located and details of contact details for emergencies and general repairs. Please keep a copy in your room.

Advice for Northampton student housing FAQ