Most universities have an accommodation office that helps students find a suitable place to lay their weary head, but if there’s high demand, they won’t be able to do much more than help you realise a bit quicker how hard it is to find anywhere affordable.

If you aren’t using the university’s property service to find accommodation, at least get them to check out your tenancy agreement before you sign it. In fact, nag them with questions if anything to do with your living arrangements is bugging you.

Get your landlord/lady to give you confirmation that everything’s in satisfactory working order (a boiler certificate, for example) before you sign anything and whenever something goes wrong pester them till they sort it out. Especially if it’s dangerous or costing you money. Tenants have rights and you shouldn’t have to put up with faulty plumbing, blocked drains, a leaking roof or rising damp.

Make sure you get an inventory of everything that’s there when you move in and make sure it doesn’t have anything on it that isn’t. Your landlord will check it all when you leave and if there’s anything missing, they’ll charge you for it.

Before you move in, you’ll have to pay usually a month’s rent in advance plus a deposit. The deposit is usually the same as a month’s rent (and by law it can’t be more than two months’, though they can ask for advance rent as well) and it’s there as protection for the landlord if you either trash the joint or do a runner. Take pictures when you first move in to show the condition of the property - that way if there are any quibbles about the iron print on the carpet or dodgy decorating you can bring out the proof to show it was there when you moved in.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
A reasonable amount of wear and tear shouldn’t cost you your deposit, but specific breakages and party damage will. It’s also not a deposit-losing offence if the roof falls in or the boiler blows up, unless it was clearly your fault. (So hide the elephant afterwards.)

Despite what a shocking proportion of landlords seem to think, it’s not there as a bonus for them to keep when you move out. All things being well, you should get the deposit back at the end of the year. However, in the meantime, it can make a hole of several hundred quid in your bank balance.

It's now the law for all Landlords of assured shorthold tenancies to pay into a tenancy deposit scheme. First check you have an assured shorthold tenancy (you most probably will) then make sure your landlord does what they should. The point of the scheme is to protect your money and to keep you aware of where it is. It's illegal for your landlord to not tell you the details of where the money is being kept. Go to http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/tenancydeposit/index.htm for more info. 

Never hand over any money (for deposits, retainers, rent or anything else) till everyone’s happy with all the terms and conditions and has signed on the line. A verbal agreement is legally binding but don't be fooled into one as a student. You're easy prey for wily, charming or – worst of all – apparently vague landlords or property agencies: they’re business people after your money. And it’s not as if there’s much to go around. Don’t give it to them until you know exactly what you will be getting and firmly believe it's right for you.

Cleanliness may not come naturally to you. It may not even be your top priority, but you don’t want to get a call from the landlord saying they’re popping by tomorrow if that’s okay and then have to splash out on a professional house-cleaning crew in order to protect your deposit. Nor do you want the place to become a health hazard, for that matter.

Speaking of surprise visits, depending on your contract, your landlord normally has to give you notice if they want to come round. But usually it’s only 24 hours and, besides, it can be hard to say no in case they ask why.

Your landlord isn’t allowed to put your rent up more than once a year, so if they try, tell them you won’t pay the increase. Then don’t. So long as you pay your agreed rent, they won’t be able to do anything.

Read your tenancy contract and don’t do anything you’re not allowed to. Then you should be fine. And don’t stand for any rubbish from your landlord that’s not in the contract. Always be as friendly and polite as possible and only as rude and firm as necessary – that’s the way.

• Renting and housing
• Dosh drains: where the money goes
• Choosing housing: what to consider

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