So it’s that time of year again, and as our exams finally finish, it’s time to think about packing up and shipping out for the summer. Of course, you’ll be wanting your deposit back so we’ve put some top tips together to make it as simple as possible.
Clean your house thoroughly
Deposits are tricky things, but it’s relatively simple to get yours back. The biggest issue is cleaning.
Ideally, everyone should clean their own bedrooms and help out with communal areas, such as hallways, landings, the kitchen, bathrooms and living room. It could be useful to get together as a house and assign each other specific jobs – that way no one feels resentful that they’ve been working their bums off while someone else goes down to the beach!
I know houses that have eaten up the rest of their food with an end of year feast. Some of the dishes were a bit weird, but it can be a good way to use up food that would be heavy to take home.
Did you have an inventory when you moved in? Now might be a good time to fish it out, and double check everything is in the right place. It's also really useful to take some photos once you've cleaned, to prove there was no extra damage etc. You can email these to your landlord or agent.
We’ve created a cleaning checklist that you can print out, as cleaning at the end of a tenancy is a bit more thorough than your usual cleaning. Think spring clean! Pop a pinny and some rubber gloves on, and download the checklist here:
Sort out your bills and post
You need to let all of your utility companies know when you’re all leaving – give them an exact date and that way no one will have to pay for more than they owe. They will usually ask for an address to send the final bill to – so you’ll have to work out who will receive those.
Don’t forget about other bills that might get sent to your house – like TV licence (did you know you can potentially claim 3 months TV licence back?), your mobile phone bill etc.
Check your university intranet has your home address on it so you can receive your results, and change your address for your Tesco Clubcard and any other post you might have that comes to the house.
Donate things you don’t need anymore
If you live on campus, in the village or in an SAS Lettings house, this year you can donate some of your items you don’t need to charity. Check out our SU Facebook event for more details.
If you can’t do that, consider donating things to charity shops, or friends that are staying on. Just remember to check what charities can take before you bombard them with bags.
Get your bins out on the right dates
It’s really important that you get the right bin bags out on the right dates. If you don’t do it you could get fined by your landlord for taking them away, not to mention it can cause severe disruption to other residents and can really put students as a whole in Swansea’s bad books, which isn’t fair on everyone else!
We know it can be tricky, but try to plan ahead to get as much of your black bag rubbish out on a pink week as possible – that might mean your main clearout takes place a week before you leave.
If you have bags that need to go out and it's nowhere near Wednesday or the wrong 'week', you need to go to the tip. The nearest is in Sketty, and is called Clyne Community Recycling Centre. It might be a good idea to plan in advance for friends/family to help you to take your bags away if you don't have a car. Unfortunately at the moment that's the only option that won't potentially land you and your housemates with a hefty fine.
June/July Refuse Collection dates for Brynmill/Uplands
A pink square means PINK week – black bags with unrecyclable waste, and pink bags with clean plastic
A green square means GREEN week – green bags with paper, green bags with tin and glass. NO black bags. They won’t be collected and you will cause seagull/rubbish armageddon.
Food waste can be recycled every week.
If you need extra pink or green bags, just visit the Union offices on the third floor of union house, left as you reach the photo machine. We have lots there just for you!
Talk to your landlord/agent
Find out exactly what the process will be - will there be a final inspection? When will everyone get their deposit back? Where do you have to leave your keys?
Make sure everyone in the house knows this information. If there is a final inspection, make sure there's more than one of you there to stick up for yourselves if there's any disagreement. It's always better to go around the house with the landlord or agent than to hear about the list of things you have to pay for without being there to argue your case. Taking photographs can be a great way to back yourselves up too - better to be safe than sorry.
If you do have issues with charges, or you're having problems getting your deposits back you can contact the SU Advice and Support Centre for free, confidential and impartial advice.
Is there anything you can think of that we’ve missed?