SHACing up
AS soon as the fresher bubble breaks one of the first things students look to get sorted is a second year house. Somehow, as the years have progressed at Birmingham the
Housing in Selly Oak Photo: Pete Blakemore
desperation to find a house among first years has skyrocketed. Freshers are bombarded with flyers and Facebook messages from estate agena will become the first port of call for students when looking for a house.’
It has several standout features, most notably it will feature separate landlord and code of standards, accreditation schemes – indicating to all students which houses have vetted landlords and have also been approved to Guild standards. All houses will be advertised – however only the ones that have been inspected by the Guild will receive the approved markings – highlighting to students the houses that offer them better protection and quality.
The SHAC will be staffed by students, with a full time lettings manager overseeing the operation. The student staff will be trained and responsible for inspecting the houses – they will also show around the prospective student tenants meaning they receive good, impartial advice.
For the past few years the Guild (via the ARC) has offered a contract ‘drop in’ scheme to check over new contracts and to provide advice to students about housing, however these services are often oversubscribed. This new initiative will allow the Guild to expand these services to a greater number of students.
The potential of such a scheme is staggering – ensuring that students are housed in properties that are well maintained with trustworthy landlords will be a great step forward in the Guilds care of students and a step that most unions have not made.
It should also calm down the housing search, ensuring that first years do not agree to live with people two weeks after meeting them – as this can have disastrous results when groups have disagreements soon after signing. The office will be located in the newly refurbished retail section of the Guild and should mark the start of a successful plan to move the negotiating power back into the hands of the students.
It should be noted that there are many estate agents in Selly Oak that stand to loose significant amounts of business if the project is sucessful and it is unlikely that they will sit around and watch customers walk out of the door. This can only be good for students as standards are driven up.
Patrick at Purple Frog commented ‘We’ve spoken to James Ogden and Ed Sparks about the project and it’s clear that their and our objectives are the same; to increase the standard of accommodation for students so we are looking forward to working with them in the future.’
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