FAQs
Renting a Crib
Of course, please select the relevant contract for your tenancy.
The Student Cribs Scottish Letting Agent registration number is LARN2008016.
Yes, Student Cribs hold a membership for the Propertymark Client Money protection Scheme.
You can view our certification of membership here.
You are committed under your tenancy agreement to pay the full contracted rent, unless you can find someone to take over the remainder of your contract and there are at least 6 months remaining on your tenancy agreement.
You will not be able to move in before the start date of your tenancy.
WiFi is provided in all of our accommodation, and is accessible in each room of the property. Your WiFi access is included in your monthly rent. The average speed we try to offer is 300MBPS, however please note that due to the nature of WiFi speeds may vary depending on proximity to the router, the nature of the usage and the number of devices connected at any one time. You can check the speed of your WiFi at any time via our customer portal which has instructions on how to do so. If you would like to know specifics about WiFi provision at one of our properties, please ask your point of contact in the Lettings Team.
This is someone who is willing to guarantee your rent payments on your behalf. This is standard practice with student rental properties due to your employment status. A guarantor is signing the tenancy agreement confirming that they are guaranteeing your obligations in the contract.
We request that all tenants pay rent via Direct Debit. However, payment can be made over the phone, via our website, bank transfer or standing order. Please note there may be a 72 hour delay from making the payment to the payment showing on your tenant portal. We accept Mastercard and Visa.
No, there are no fees and no deposits to pay.
Holding retainers have reduced by 75% from £200 to £50 for a limited time only. The £50 holding retainer paid to reserve your property will be deducted from your first month’s rent.
For a limited time only, the holding retainer for Cribs in Stoke and Huddersfield have been reduced to £10.
If you do not have a UK based guarantor, you can either use housinghand which will act as a guarantor on your behalf or you can pay all of your rent in one annual upfront payment.
Property laws are different outside of the UK. This means that it is not possible for your guarantor to be based elsewhere.
Your holding retainer reserves the house for 3 working days. In this time you will need to fill in your tenancy form and upload your documents. You will then be sent the tenancy agreement.
After signing your agreement online it will automatically send us a copy so there is nothing you need to do apart from sign.
Do not sign the agreement if you do not understand. On page 3 of the contract there are definitions that should help explain anything that is not clear. You can also give us a call or email lettings@student-cribs.com. Your university should be able to advise you if there is anything you need clarifying.
Joint and several liability means that both individually and jointly all of the tenants are individually and jointly responsible for paying rent and for all other tenants’ responsibilities during the tenancy.
You will be sent your tenancy agreement via email. There are clear instructions when you open the document, please ensure you sign your first and last name (no initials).
After paying the holding retainer we ask you to fill out a tenant details link that we email over to your whole group. When this is done we send out the tenancy agreement via email.
Our standard tenancy length is 52 weeks, unless you are taking one of our houses which is being refurbished (these tenancies are often slightly shorter).
We have no admin fees!! They’re unnecessary, dated and stop you from getting the most for your money.
Your group will only have the house once all the tenancy details forms have been completed, a contract has been sent out, all tenant and guarantors have signed, all remaining retainers have been paid and all identification for tenants and guarantors received. Then the landlord will contract the property and you will be notified of this by email.
Make an enquiry on the Student Cribs website and book a viewing using our online booking platform.
All people viewing a property must wear a mask and santisie their hands before entering the property and on departure. All attendants must adhere to social distancing and avoid physical contact with surfaces, furnishings and personal belongings in the property.
You call the office to pay one £200 holding Retainer. This reserves the property for you and gets the ball rolling. The holding retainer is non-refundable but is deducted from the first month’s rent of the person who paid it. Each of the other members of the house will also need to pay a £200 holding retainer within 2 days after the tenancy agreement is signed. |
Make an enquiry on the Student Cribs website and book a viewing using our online booking platform.
Living In Your Crib
Our crib caretakers will attend every month to carry out health and safety checks in your crib to test the fire alarm and emergency lights. We will notify you in advance of when this will be.
Your Crib Manager or a member of the management team will carry out inspections every term. The reason for these inspections are to check all is well in the properties and look for any required works- also it is great to meet our tenants throughout the year!
Here are some quick points that can prevent pests:
· Try and make a habit of cleaning up immediately after meals. Wash all dishes, wipe down tables or counters, and store leftovers in airtight containers. Cleaning up quickly prevents pests from making their way onto dirty dishes or uncovered foods.
· When possible, buy food that comes in cans or jars. Pests like insects and rodents can easily chew through plastic, paper and cardboard.
· Keep more food in the refrigerator or freezer. Few insects and rodents can make their way into these appliances (some food lasts longer when cool).
· ALWAYS CLEAN! The kitchen needs to be cleaned more often than other areas of the home. Even the tiniest of crumbs can attract pests. Be mindful of brushing away crumbs and sanitising tables and countertops after any type of food prep. Sweep away anything that hits the floor.
· Take out the rubbish as soon as it’s needed. Allowing rubbish to sit in the kitchen only invites pests over for dinner.· Keep your cabinets clean! It is important to inspect your cabinets regularly for exposed food, crumbs or signs of a pest invasion.
Dishwashers need salt and rinse aid regularly- the filter also needs to be kept clean and clear of debris as this will cause blockages. How to fill up the salt/rinse aid and how to unblock the filter can be seen here:
Tumble dryers need to be emptied of fluff on a regular basis, not emptying this will cause the unit to overheat and not work correctly. Here is a general video on how to unblock the filters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFnBcJEEaVA
Condensation mould forms when there is too much moisture in the air and it hits a cold surface – please take a look at this video which you may find useful in managing and preventing condensation https://youtu.be/ypB2Y81BP7w
If the mould reoccurs after you have removed it and you are not drying clothes inside please report as an issue so we can investigate.
There will be an isolation switch outside the bathroom – please ensure this is turned on before reporting as maintenance.
If your shower is blocked do not continue to shower with it running over the top, as this will cause a leak and damage to the house. You need to unblock showers regularly and ensure the plug is free from hair.
This often happens when the door is attempted to be opened before the door has unlocked after the cycle. Always wait 5 minutes before trying to open the door. If this is the case and it has been forced open this may be something that will require repairs that we may not cover the cost of. Sometimes, the washing machine will have a drain function, so please use this if possible before opening the door using a piece of string. Refer to this video for a tutorial on this temporary fix/ to get your trapped closed out: https://youtu.be/J7vzWGMvfOM?t=97
Please ensure that you are disposing of your household waste correctly and putting it out on the correct day (preferably the night before as this ensures collection, a lot of students aren’t up at 9 am!). You can search online when collection days are/what you can and can’t put in each bin. *This is important as the council reserve the right to refuse collection if the rubbish is disposed of incorrectly* If you think you need more council bins, please let us know and we can put in a request. You can find information on bin collections on your council website.
Always listen to the most recent email. Unfortunately, our maintenance team may have to attend to emergency problems which can take priority over your maintenance, hence them rescheduling the visit date.
Firstly check with your neighbours to see if this is an area fault. You can also check on the national grid; you can check on this website https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/power-cut. There may be something that has caused the electric to trip inside the house. You can check the fuse box and identify what has caused the outage. Often these can be re-engaged – please do not force switches up – if they cannot be re-engaged or the issue repeats itself please report as maintenance.
For general maintenance, reporting it through the Portal will mean that the issue is resolved as quickly as possible for you.
It is important to remember that your energy usage is not unlimited. You will be responsible for any additional costs if you exceed your allowance.
Rent Queries
Bank details can be found on our Tenant Portal. Please follow this link.
We request that all tenants pay their rent via Direct Debit. All tenants will receive information regarding the set up process once the tenancy agreement is fully signed.
Your yearly rent is calculated as your weekly rent times 52 weeks, divided by 12 payments (monthly) or 4 payments (quarterly).
Some properties may have electricity and gas included, please refer to our viewing booking platform (link sent to you after submitting an enquiry) or speak to the team for further information.
If you have paid us a retainer, and your rental payments are set up via Direct Debit, your retainer will automatically be deducted from the first rental instalment. If you are paying your rent via an alternative method, you must deduct the retainer amount from your first rental instalment.
You can still live in your Crib until the end of your contracted period; however you will become liable for council tax during this time.
Please give us a call and we will work with you to find the best way in which to pay your rent. Alternatively, you can email us at accounts@student-cribs.com. All rent is due in advance.
Please note, if your payment is more than 14 days late and we have not heard from you, then as per your contract, late payment charges may be applied to your account.
You may be able to change your payment plan. Please contact us with details of your request and we will get back to you.
Please note the first rental instalment date cannot be altered and 14 days notice minimum is required for any payment plan changes.
We request that all tenants pay rent via Direct Debit. However, payment can be made over the phone, via our website, bank transfer or standing order. Please note there may be a 72 hour delay from making the payment to the payment showing on your tenant portal. We accept Mastercard and Visa.
Your contract will outline the dates on which your rental payments are due. If you believe you will have difficulty paying on these dates or would like to align you rental payments with your student loans then please contact us to discuss this. Please note that all tenants will need to pay their first instalment of rent before we can release keys to any tenants on joint contracts.
Right to Rent Check
A new Right to Rent check will need to be completed even if you are renewing your tenancy
Yes. A new Right to Rent check will need to be carried out even if you are renewing with us.
We accept a Driving Licence or Passport as a form of ID on the Tenant Form we sent you, to ensure we have the correct documentation from you for the Right to Rent check we require you to submit your Passport/ Acceptable Documents via a separate form. We take the storage of your data extremely seriously, for more information on our Privacy Policy please visit https://student-cribs.fxdev.site/privacy-policy/
Yes, an expired Passport is acceptable for the check.
If you have an upcoming tenancy, you will have received at least one email about right to rent check in the email inbox associated with your tenancy. Please search for this email and follow the instructions contained.
If you do not have a Passport, you will need to provide one “Category 1” document or two “Category 2” documents from the Available Documents list which can be found on Page 3 here.
The law requires that landlords must check that all of their tenants can legally rent a residential property in England.
British and Irish Citizens:
Before the landlord is able to sign the tenancy agreement; we, by law, have to carry out “Right to Rent” checks on UK and Irish citizens. If you have a UK or Irish passport, you will be sent a link to HooYu to carry out this check virtually. If you are a UK or Irish national but do not have a passport, we will be in contact with specific dates that you will need to come and meet us with your right to rent documents.
International Citizens:
If you are an international student, your right to rent check has to be carried out within 28 days of your tenancy starting. Within 90 days of the tenancy start date you will be emailed asking you to provide a share code for your visa from the government website. We will then use this share code within 28 days of your tenancy starting to check your Right to Rent status, we input the code into the government website and we get sent a PDF confirming your visa status. We will then check this PDF with you in person at key collection.’
Other Queries
We always love hearing from our customers, whether it’s feedback about what we’re doing, a suggestion of how we can make things better or even if you just simply want to chat, we want to hear from you.
We put customer service and commitment to our customers at the heart of what we do. We strive to get it right, first time, every time. But occasionally, things don’t go as planned. If this happens, we’d really like your feedback as not only does it allow us to explain and apologise to you, it also helps us to improve our products and service. If for whatever reason you’re not happy with the service, you receive from Student Cribs – you can raise a complaint with our team.
Most complaints can be dealt with by our frontline teams e.g. your Portfolio Manager and they will do their best to resolve the matter quickly, to your satisfaction.
You can also submit a complaint on your tenant portal. If you think your complaint has not been fully resolved, then please write to our Customer Experience team, based at;
Student Cribs Ltd, 33 Cavendish Square, Margaret Street, London, W1G 0PW or
Email us at customerservice@student-cribs.com
All complaints are reported onto our database with our Customer Experience team who will investigate and subsequently respond to you either by phone, email or letter no later than 15 days after you have received your acknowledgement. Due to data protection rules and our own commitment to the confidentiality of personal details we can communicate only with the named tenant or guarantor whose name appears on the tenancy agreement or their appointed representative upon receipt of written permission.
Should you remain dissatisfied through pursuit of our complaint process, the independent redress scheme available to you is The Property Ombudsman.