Our office opening hours during December and January are as follows –
9am – 5pm weekdays until Friday 15th December 2017
Monday 18th December – 9am – 1pm
Tuesday 19th December – 10am – 2pm
Wednesday 20th December – 10am – 2pm
Thursday 21st December – 10am – 2pm
Closed from Friday 22nd December until Thursday 4th Jan 2018
Thursday 4th January - 10am – 2pm
Friday 5th January - 10am – 2pm
Dear Tenants,
You’ll soon be heading home for your Christmas break, please find a number of useful points for you to think about before you leave your student property –
HEATING IN YOUR HOME – IMPORTANT
When leaving for the Christmas holidays, please do not turn off any gas or water.
Please make sure that you set your heating to come on between 8am and 10am in the morning and between 7pm and 9pm in the evening. The thermostat must be set to 18 – 20 degrees. This will protect the property from burst pipes etc. during any severely cold conditions.
SAFETY IN YOUR HOME
Although Sheffield is one of the UK's safest 'big cities', areas dominated by student accommodation tend to have a higher rate of burglaries and it's better to be safe than sorry.
You should make sure all of the windows and doors are securely locked and that your burglar alarm is fully set as you leave your property for your Christmas break. Make sure that all your valuable items aren’t on display especially in ground floor rooms and please close your lounge curtains.
PJ PROPERTIES OFFICE OPENING HOURS AND EMERGENCY CONTACTS
Our office opening hours during December and January are as follows –
9am – 5pm weekdays until Friday 15th December 2017
Monday 18th December – 9am – 1pm
Tuesday 19th December – 10am – 2pm
Wednesday 20th December – 10am – 2pm
Thursday 21st December – 10am – 2pm
Closed from Friday 22nd December until Thursday 4th Jan 2018
Thursday 4th January - 10am – 2pm
Friday 5th January - 10am – 2pm
If you are living in your property over the Christmas break and you have an emergency for example, a burst water pipe, please call our office and follow the instructions to contact our emergency telephone number. Please note – if a non-emergency call is made to this number, you will be charged.
Alternatively, please email us at info@pjproperties.co.uk and a member of staff will answer your query in the New Year.
Have a very merry Christmas!
PJ Properties x
Our office will be closed Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th of August 2017 due to the bank holiday.
If you have an urgent enquiry, please call the office on 0114 266 7666 and listen out for the out-of-hours emergency telephone number.
Please email all other non-urgent enquiries to sophie@pjproperties.co.uk.
Thank you.
KEY COLLECTION
IMPORTANT: You will not be able to collect your keys without an appointment. If you arrive at our office unannounced, we will not be able to give them to you.
§ Please give us a call on 0114 2667666 from 9am on Friday 23rd June 2017 in order to book an appointment to collect your keys. If you can't get through please keep trying. Please don't leave a voicemail as we cannot guarantee and appointment this way. It’s obviously a busy time of year so this helps us make sure we have the keys ready for you on the day.
You cannot collect your keys before your tenancy start date.
You do not have to pick your keys up on the first day of your contract.
If you would like someone else to pick your keys up for you, please let us know.
If you and your housemates are picking up keys on the same day please only make one appointment (only one of you needs to pick up the keys though). However, if you are all planning on moving on different days you can just pick your own keys up.
If you are planning to live in the property over the summer months, please let us know so that we can arrange for your property to be cleaned ASAP.
We cannot accept key collection appointments via email.
IMPORTANT POINTS FOR NEW TENANTS
Please familiarise yourself with the content below:
KEY COLLECTION
IMPORTANT: You will not be able to collect your keys without an appointment. If you arrive at our office unannounced, we will not be able to give them to you.
§ Please give us a call on 0114 2667666 from 9am on Friday 23rd June 2017 in order to book an appointment to collect your keys. If you can't get through please keep trying. Please don't leave a voicemail as we cannot guarantee and appointment this way. It’s obviously a busy time of year so this helps us make sure we have the keys ready for you on the day.
§ You cannot collect your keys before your tenancy start date.
§ You do not have to pick your keys up on the first day of your contract.
§ If you would like someone else to pick your keys up for you, please let us know.
§ If you and your housemates are picking up keys on the same day please only make one appointment (only one of you needs to pick up the keys though). However, if you are all planning on moving on different days you can just pick your own keys up.
§ If you are planning to live in the property over the summer months, please let us know so that we can arrange for your property to be cleaned ASAP.
§ We cannot accept key collection appointments via email.
MOVING ADVICE
We are aware that as most of our tenancies don't begin until July there may be a short period between your old tenancy ending and your new one beginning. Unfortunately we cannot allow you to pick up your house keys until your tenancy begins, but if you are staying in Sheffield over summer and the changeover has potentially left you stranded here are a few options;
· If you are planning on moving into your house on July 1st 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 so that your house is ready for you when your tenancy begins.
· If you are planning on moving into your property on July 1st, get in contact with us and we will put you in touch with the current tenants. They may be willing to let you store your items with them. Please make sure everything is clearly labelled as 'incoming tenant items' and preferably boxed together on your bed. You will need to make arrangements with the current tenants directly, PJ Properties staff will not be able to give you access. Please do not leave valuables at the property.
· If this option is not available to you, you can use a storage facility. We have recommended 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.
· If you need to use storage facilities or stay in a hotel for a short time please remember to book early to avoid possible disappointment.
· Remember, you don't have to move in on the first day of your tenancy. You can always take your belongings home with you and return with them when you are ready to start back in the new academic year.
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 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 hello@unihomes.co.ukand let them know that you’d like to sign up.
If you have decided to use separate utility providers, please contact them ASAP. Do not leave this until your tenancy start date.However, it may be helpful to give the current tenants a call before you move in to ask them about their current suppliers.
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.
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 1242420
Northern Power Grid (Electricity): 0800 1114005
National Grid (Gas): 0870 6081524
Phone Line
If you wish to use the phone line during your tenancy, we recommend that you speak to the current tenants to ask them to request that the line stays connected for you (although this is never guaranteed). When they call to close their account before moving out, if the line is disconnected, there may be a charge from your new supplier.
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.
· Familiarise yourselves with your contract and tenant responsibilities.
· Do not fix any locks, bolts or hooks to your door under any circumstances.
· 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 ASAP.
If you’d like to report a non-urgent or minor repair please visit our website repairs page and submit a ‘non-urgent repair form’ or email info@pjproperties.co.uk. For repairs of a more serious nature, please contact our office.
For extreme emergencies, e.g. a burst pipe, please call the office and listen for the out of hour’s emergency number on our answerphone.
We only use tried and trusted local contractors and we have a full time handyman to ensure we get to you as quickly as possible.
GAS CERTIFICATES
All gas appliances are checked annually, if you cannot find your tenants copy 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.gov.uk/rubbish-collection-day.
Please note that any communication with PJ Properties must only be from those who have signed the contract.
We do not deal with third parties i.e. parents or guardians.