Student Accommodation Sheffield

We are writing to remind you that you will need to have vacated your property by 1pm on the date stated on your tenancy agreement. In nearly all cases, this is 30^th June. If you are unsure of your tenancy end date, please contact the office or check your tenancy agreement.

If you and your housemates are vacating your property before the end of your tenancy, please let us know and we can prioritise your deposit return.

In order to receive your deposit back, there are a number of things that you and your housemates must do:

KEYS

DO NOT TAKE KEYS WITH YOU

• YOU MUST:  bring all keys to PJ Properties office.
• Our office opening hours are Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm

If you vacate your property outside office hours, please post your key through our letter box in the steel door at the rear of our office. Go down from our office and round the corner by Tesco and left again after 20 metres. You will see our PJ signs.  

• Place your key in an envelope with your name and address of the property.
• FAILURE TO RETURN YOUR KEY OR LATE RETURN OF KEYS WILL RESULT IN A CHARGE OF £70.00 MINIMUM.

CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS

Please make sure that you thoroughly clean your property. If it is not cleaned to a reasonable standard, we will instruct our cleaners to do a thorough clean, the cost of which will be charged to you. You and your housemates should allow plenty of time to do all the cleaning. As the tenancy is joint, you are all responsible for bringing the house up to standard including each other’s bedrooms.

General Cleaning

• Thoroughly hoover all carpets/clean laminate flooring.
• Wipe and dust all surfaces including window sills and skirting boards.
• Remove all blu-tak and drawing pins from walls and ceilings. Excessive marks may mean re-decoration and this will be charged to you.
• All windows need to be cleaned on the inside.
• All rubbish must be removed from inside and outside of the property. Please remember that refuse collectors will only collect rubbish from wheelie bins with closed lids. Any rubbish left outside of the property that has to be removed will be charged at a minimum of £60.00.
• No items are to be left in the cellar, the cost of removing any items/rubbish from the cellar will be charged at a minimum of £60.00 (TV removal £75.00).
• Make sure that your vacuum cleaner is in working order. Do not wait until the last few days of your tenancy to let us know that your vacuum cleaner isn’t working, let us know now.  
• Even if you think that the new tenants will benefit from some of your own personal items, please do not leave them in the property. You will be charged for the removal of any items left in the property.

Kitchen

• All cupboards need to be emptied and thoroughly cleaned inside and out.
• Wipe clean all work surfaces, tiles, grouting and white goods.
• Cookers, ovens and hobs must be degreased and scrubbed inside and out.
• Thoroughly clean the fridge and defrost the freezer (please allow 24 hours for defrosting). If you turn the power off to the fridge/freezer after cleaning, please leave the doors open to avoid them going mouldy.
• Please remove any unwanted crockery and pans from the kitchen.

Bathroom/s

• Thoroughly clean your toilet, shower, bath, tiles, sinks and flooring.
• Remove all personal bathroom items.

Bedroom/s

• Remove all blu-tak and drawing pins from walls and ceilings.Excessive marks may mean re-decoration and this will be charged to you.
• Vacuum your carpet including under the bed and furniture.
• Clean the bedroom furniture and remove all items.
• Re-position furniture into original position and replace original curtains and lampshades if you have changed these during your tenancy.

BILLS

Please make sure that all final bills are paid and that you have final meter readings for gas, water and electricity if you have sorted the bills yourselves (i.e. not Unihomes)

SMOKE DETECTORS

• Please inform us NOW if you have removed any smoke detectors or smoke detector batteries. These will all be checked in the first two weeks of July and if any are found to be damaged or removed there will be a charge of £80.

DEPOSITS

• Your deposit is held by The Deposit Protection Service, a government approved scheme designed to protect your deposit.
• You must not apply for the deposit to be returned until the expiration of your tenancy.
• You will need to go online at www.depositprotection.com. You will need to log into the account and select ‘request a repayment’. These login details will have been sent to you via email before your tenancy started. Please note that as your tenancy is joint, your deposit is protected as a whole house.
• If you do not know your login details for The DPS or you require more information on your deposit, please see the help section of their website or contact their dedicated helpline on 0844 4727 000. PJ Properties DO NOT hold these details as they are unique to each tenant.
• If we do intend to make any deductions from your deposit, we will send details to you via email. All correspondence regarding your deposit MUST be in writing.
• If there are no deductions, we will agree to your repayment request and The DPS will release your deposit ASAP.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT SPEAK TO PARENTS/GUARDIANS REGARDING DEPOSITS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

If any aspects of the above instructions are not clear, please contact our office on 0114 2667666.

Thank you for your co-operation and good luck for the future.

PJ PROPERTIES

MOVING IN ADVICE

• You will receive a detailed email in early June on how to collect your keys.Key collection is by appointment only after 11.30am on your tenancy start date.
• If you are planning on moving into your house on July 1^st to live in it, rather than just dropping stuff off, please email us and let us know. This way we can prioritise your house for cleaning and any repairs that may need to be carried out.
• If your current tenancy ends before your new one starts, you can use a storage facility. We recommend Armadillo storage in the city centre as they seem very reasonably priced and you can share storage with your housemates to further reduce the cost.

Please remember to check your contract for the exact start date of your tenancy.

UTILITY BILLS

It is now time to set up your utilities.

If you have already signed up with UniHomes, they’ll be in touch with you shortly about setting up your utility bill payments. Please look out for emails from them.

If you haven’t already sorted your utility providers, PJ Properties recommend UniHomes to provide utilities to your property. We would suggest that you set this up as soon as possible to ensure your utilities are in place for when you move in, please email harriet@pjproperties.co.ukif you would like to discuss this.

If you have decided to use separate utility providers, please contact them ASAP. Do not leave this until your tenancy start date.If you aren’t sure of suppliers, you can call the following numbers and they’ll tell you who is currently supplying your new address:

• Yorkshire Water: 0845 124 2424 or follow the below link; https://www.yorkshirewater.com/bill-account/moving/
• Northern Power Grid (Electricity): 0800 0113332 (alternatively, you can visit www.northernpowergrid.com and scroll down to the ‘Who is my energy supplier?’ section)
• Gas Supplier - https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/finding-your-energy-supplier-or-network-operator or 08706081524

It is vital that you take meter readings (gas and electricity) as close as possible to the start date of your tenancy and provide the readings to your utility suppliers. PJ Properties do not take meter readings for you.

Insurance

Please remember to consider taking out contents insurance for your belongings. We would recommend using Endsleigh Insurance as they are recommended by the NUS.

IMPORTANT POINTS

Remember that you have signed a joint tenancy agreement. This means that you are all jointly liable for each other. It is therefore in your best interests to ensure that each tenant respects the property otherwise you will all be liable for any damages incurred.

 

• Do not fix any locks or bolts to your door under any circumstances as per tenancy agreement.
• Keep the use of blue/white tak to a minimum. You will be charged for redecoration costs.
• Do not hammer tacks or nails into walls or put any shelves up.
• Please refrain from ironing your clothes on your bedroom carpet.
• Do not leave hot hair straighteners on your carpet.
• Any burns on your carpet will result in you being charged for a replacement carpet.
• Do not smoke or use candles in the property.
• Please ensure that you keep changing the hoover bag.

REPAIRS

All fridge/freezer, washer/dryer and electric oven repairs are made by our local contractor, D.A.R.T. You can contact them directly on 0114 2661699.

 

If your boiler breaks down, inform us immediately and we will send an engineer round ASAP.

If you’d like to report a non-urgent or minor repair, please visit our website repairs page and submit a repair form or email info@pjproperties.co.uk. For repairs of a more serious nature (leaks, plumbing problems, electrical problems), please phone our office.

For extreme emergencies outside of office hours, e.g. a burst pipe, please call the office and listen for the out of hour’s emergency number on our answerphone (this is strictly emergency only). 

GAS CERTIFICATES

All gas appliances are checked annually. If you cannot find your tenants copy via email or within the property, we have certificates available at our office.

CONDENSATION

It is essential to have a balance of heating and ventilation to combat the effects of condensation. Without a balance of heating and ventilation, mould may form in the corners of rooms and on walls without airflow i.e. behind wardrobes etc. Refraining from drying wet clothes in bedrooms can help the situation. If mould occurs, simply wipe it off, using a mould/mildew spray, and increase the heating and ventilation. Moving furniture away from affected areas (e.g. cold outside walls) will help air flow and to combat mould, as will leaving the bedroom door open whilst you’re out. Under no circumstances place the bed against an outside wall. It is essential to open the bathroom window regularly after showering and bathing.

WHEELIE BINS

Place your bin on the pavement the evening before it is due to be collected and put it back as soon as possible after it has been emptied. Bins left out on the pavement are a constant source of annoyance to local residents and are a health and safety hazard. Any rubbish not placed inside the bin will not be collected, and the bin will also not be collected if it’s so full that the bin won’t close. If you are unsure of when your bin is collected, please visit the following website https://www.veolia.co.uk/sheffield/collections/collection-day-finder.

SMOKE AND CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS AND FIRE INSTRUCTIONS

The detectors in your property are checked on an annual basis. If you discover a malfunctioning detector (normally indicated by a beeping sound), then please contact our office immediately.

IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE:

• Leave the room where the fire is and close the door.
• Alert any other people in the property.
• Leave the property by either the back door, the side door, or the front door (i.e. your nearest, safest exit). Do not stop to collect valuables.
• Call the fire and rescue service from a place of safety.
• Dial 999, ask for fire and give the operator the address and postcode.
• Wait outside, away from the building, and meet the fire service.

NB. Tenants must keep hallways and stairs clear from any obstructions (i.e. boxes, bin bags, rubbish etc.)

Please note that any communication with PJ Properties must only be from those who have signed the contract.

We love reading feedback like this at the end of our tenancies! Thank you!

As the weather turns cooler, you may experience condensation forming on some outside walls and windows. This is simply moisture in the atmosphere that has been unable to escape your property and has condensed to form water droplets on the colder surfaces with least airflow. This can, in turn, form into dark coloured mould.

 

The moisture in the atmosphere comes from various sources. Whilst you are asleep, about 3-4 litres of moisture comes from your breath. Showering, boiling water and drying wet washing indoors are also big sources of atmospheric moisture in the home.

 

There are measures you can take to avoid the build up of condensation, but the best way is to achieve a balance of heating and ventilation. It is essential to have the central heating on in the morning for at least two hours – From around 7.30-9.30 am (this is particularly essential in bathrooms.) This will obviously provide warmth to cold areas and increase airflow.  You should also set the heating to come on for around 3-5 hours in the afternoon / evening.

 

Please inform us if any radiators are not getting hot, or if the boiler stops working.

 

It is strongly advised to ventilate your rooms by opening the window slightly in the morning to allow moisture to escape.

 

If you find that any mould has formed, please contact us and a member of staff will treat the area with an anti-bacterial mould solution.

 

Any bedrooms that are not adequately heated and ventilated may experience a phenomenon whereby the moisture and mould can form on shoes / handbags / coats and furnishings etc

 

It is a misconception that the formation of condensation and mould is the fault of the landlord or the house – it is not! Follow the simple measures suggested above, and it should not occur.