The Union of Students in Ireland has issued guidance for students anxious to have a trouble-free departure from their current accommodation – and joined forces with Property Button to help prepare students make their next move hassle free.
With the exam season coming to an end, it’s important to prepare to vacate your accommodation in good order – giving the owner nothing to complain about – and more importantly making sure you get that all-important deposit back.
There are seven simple steps that everyone should follow to return the place in order and avoid any deposit deductions:
- make sure you’ve paid all due rent;
- do a meter reading and make sure you’ve left no outstanding bills as you leave;
- transfer utility bills or end your contracts;
- remove all your personal belongings;
- clean the property thoroughly;
- do a final inspection with the landlord/agent or take photos of the dwelling;
- return the keys;
- leave forwarding address.
USI President Annie Hoey warned students to prepare to defend their own rights while moving out.
“Moving out can be easy or hard. Landlords have an obligation in law to refund the deposit, but can make deductions for unpaid rent, other already-stated charges or taxes and damage to their property in excess of normal wear and tear. If a property is left in an unsatisfactory state, your landlord has the right to take deductions from your deposit to fix the problems. The first step in defending your rent – and your money – is to be a responsible tenant and do the checklist. If the checklist is completed properly there is no reason why a deposit should not be returned.”
Services like Property Button’s HomeHub can make this far less stressful for the next time you move. It takes a lot of the hassle and complexity out of setting up utilities and tailoring them to your student experience.
What is HomeHub?
HomeHub from Property Button is your personal move-in assistant where you can login from any device and get setup with all of your residential services in just a few taps. Property Button identifies the best service providers and packages specifically available at your property and uploads these details to your personal HomeHub account, providing you with choice and transparency throughout an easy process of choosing and setting up energy, media, bins and insurance in three simple steps in one place – your HomeHub.
Property Button CEO Jim Urell said: “We understand the digital demands of tenants and we are excited to partner with the USI to offer our free and simple digital alternative to students when setting up and closing service contracts, which will no doubt make their lives easier!”
Stay tuned
USI is committed to making accommodation easier and simpler for students. For advice and information, check out our Facebook and Twitter accounts and visit our website http://homes.usi.ie.
ENDS
Notes:
- Established in 2012, Property Button is an award winning property technology business, now offering their free cloud-based services to students. They are the leading software provider to Letting Agents and Estate Agents in Ireland and are now offering their cloud-based technology service to student tenants, empowering your decision making when getting set up with services at your property. This service is completely free and we’ll significantly reduce the hassle of moving into your new pad.. Sign up today and get ready for September!
http://propertybutton.io/homehub-for-students/
Contact: keesa.odea@propertybutton.io, 01 969 6901
2. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) is the national representative body for third-level students’ unions in Ireland. USI is the sole national representative body for students in Ireland. Founded in 1959, USI now represents more than 354,000 students in over forty colleges across the island of Ireland. The goal of the USI is to work for rights of students and a fair and equal third level education system in Ireland. USI has campaigned on the issue of student accommodation since the 1970s and works with the RTB, Threshold and other organisations on the issue.
Please visit usi.ie or homes.usi.ie to find out about other activities of USI with regard to housing.