With the end of term and the summer break coming up for both universities in Nottingham, we wanted to thank you for all your hard work during the year to maintain good property standards and provide safe homes for residents, as well as contributing to cleaner and safer communities.
We are working with both universities to educate and advise students on waste management, including how to make sure extra waste is either recycled or disposed of responsibly. Our teams have been out conducting proactive work with both universities around waste issues identified in high-density HMOs (House in Multiple Occupation) areas, engaging and educating occupiers of HMO’s.
We wanted to help you with preparations as you may have some student tenants ending their tenancies soon, so we’ve pulled together some tips to help keep your property safe & ensure a smooth change of tenancy
1. Plan for waste and how you will manage this.
- With tenants vacating properties for the summer, you should reinforce that bins need to be correctly filled.
- The bins should only be put out in time for their specified collection day and need to be brought back in after collection. So please remind your tenants of the collection days and their responsibility to bring their bins off the street. For more information on this please visit; Bin and Rubbish Collections – Nottingham City Council.
- You may want to conduct external waste audits at your property, to ensure there is no excess waste that has not been properly disposed of by your tenants.
- We have had some reports of smelly bins, so you may want to organise having the bins jet-washed over the summer in preparation for new tenancies.
- Please check your licence conditions for your responsibilities in dealing with rubbish left by your tenants, remember to keep a record of your visit and any remedial actions taken to satisfy your licence condition.
- Remember that you are required to carry out a property inspection at least every six months.
- There are food banks dotted around Nottingham which may be able to take excess food, sealed packets, tins etc.
- There are also various recycling sites which can be found here.
- Bulky items can be removed via this link – Bulky Waste Collection – Nottingham City Council
- Hazardous waste removal can be found here- https://nottinghamwaste.co.uk/hazardous-waste-nottingham
- There are British Heart Foundation donation bins located around Nottingham which can take items the tenants don’t want to take home with them. Their locations can be found here https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/find-bhf-near-you
- Use our Recycleopedia to find out what day-to-day household items you can recycle and how. Just enter the item you want to recycle, and your postcode and it will tell you which bin to use at home or if you need to take them to a recycling site or request a special collection.
2. Ask about your tenant’s end of term plans
- Speak with your tenants about their plans, when will they be leaving the property, and whether this will be before the official end of the tenancy.
- This may be a good opportunity for you to arrange a property inspection with them or to do some routine maintenance, remember you need to give 24hrs notice to your tenants even if they are planning to be away.
- This is an ideal time to remind tenants to have consideration for their neighbours by asking them to think about their noise levels and discourage any parties they may be planning for the end of term.
3. Reminding your tenants about Anti Social Behaviour expectations.
- Please can we remind you that when dealing with reports of Anti-Social Behaviour, in the first instance follow your ASB procedure. As a reminder, there are two primary approaches to consider, depending on the severity and nature of the situation. Firstly, issuing a direct warning to your tenants can often serve as an effective means of addressing the issue. Clear communication about expected standards of conduct, accompanied by an explanation of the consequences of breaching those standards, can go a long way in curbing undesirable outcomes.
- If you must deal with a more complex case, you can always seek assistance from the HMO team who will look to work with you to come to a resolution.
4. Supporting Student Tenants accessing Financial Aid for Energy Bills.
- Considering the current energy cost challenges, it’s crucial to address the impact on our student tenants living in HMOs (House in Multiple Occupation). Many of them might be facing difficulties in properly heating their homes due to financial constraints, potentially leading to issues like damp and mould.
- Both the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University offer essential support through their student hardship funds. Nottingham Trent University’s student hardship fund provides extra financial assistance to those in need. You can find more details here https://www.ntu.ac.uk/studenthub/money-fees-and-funding/extra-money-for-those-who-need-it#ud
- Similarly, the University of Nottingham offers support funds tailored to students’ needs. Access more information here: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studentservices/support/financialsupport/support-funds/index.aspx
- By informing our student tenants about these resources, we can play a vital role in ensuring they maintain warmth and comfort in their homes during the colder months. This will alleviate the stress of high energy bills, whilst also reducing the risk of damp and mould due to the property not being heated properly.
Let’s unite in supporting our student community through these challenging times.
5. Check-in with the neighbours
- If you see the neighbours, have a chat with them and introduce yourself. A good neighbour can help you manage your property and let you know if there are any problems.
- Make your neighbours aware of the period the property will be vacant and the plans for new occupants moving into the property.
6. Check if the tenants have any issues and remind them to look after your property
- This period can be a good time to make sure you are complying with your licence conditions and a good opportunity to compile a list of essential maintenance.
- You may also want to check the house is secured when the tenants move out and the doors are locked and the windows closed and locked with the keys removed.
- Check the power will be left on to power the fire alarms, it’s also a good time for you to inspect and test your alarms.
We are still open over the summer period. Should you need housing support, you can contact the HMO team at HMO@nottinghamcity.gov.uk anytime or call the Customer Hub on 0115 915 5555 between 9am and 5pm. We will try to get back to you as quickly as possible.
You can also follow us on social media to get the latest news and see the daily work we are doing here: Facebook @NottinghamRenters and Twitter @NottmRenters