Rent Levels and Costs

Rent levels are set to cover the actual cost of the accommodation and are thereby kept to a minimum. Rents vary, reflecting the age of the property, its location and its amenity level. We are not in the business of letting poor quality properties at low rents and we guarantee a minimum set of standards. Click here to access the payment page.

Unipol’s Rent Collection Procedure

Your tenancy agreement is an important document. It will tell you for how long you are renting the property and are liable for the rent. It will also set out the rent payment dates. If you do not pay your rent on time and Unipol staff have to chase payment you will have to pay administration charges.

The consequences of you not paying your rent could be that you will have a County Court judgement against you but also it will impact on future rent levels that Unipol charges.

Having said that Unipol will assist students who have genuine cash flow problems and if you contact us as soon as you know you cannot make a rent payment date we will be happy to agree any reasonable offer you make for paying within your tenancy dates.

Below is the rent collection and arrears management procedure that Unipol operates. Many landlords follow similar procedures, some are very much tougher than Unipol.

In general there is a "no pay, no key" principle in all but the most exceptional cases at the commencement of the tenancy.

Rent Payments

Your tenancy agreement states the amount of rent and the dates that you must pay your rent. Always check your bank account to ensure a rent payment has been made correctly. Unipol is not able to talk to your bank about your payments and account.

Rent payment for the whole year

Unipol offer a discount on the total amount of rent payable if you pay all your rent in one payment by a specific date at the beginning of your tenancy. Further details are available at the time of signing your tenancy agreement. For the 2011-2012 lettings year the discount is 3% of the rent payable for the term of the tenancy.

If you pay by debit card or credit card via Worldpay ( through Unipol’s website or email link payment plan)

Please ensure that you have set up the payment correctly and that you have sufficient funds available on the dates the payments are due.

If a payment needs cancelling for any reason then you need to instruct Worldpay not to make the payment before the payment date and inform Unipol of how you intend to pay your rent,

If you are aware that your bank has not made a payment then you need to check with your bank and find out why. You then need to contact the finance team at Unipol to arrange payment by an alternative method.

If a payment is made in error to Unipol, due to banking time delays, a refund will take 7 to 10 working days to process a refund.

Please note a worldpay agreement is linked to your card and not your bank account. If you need to replace your card you will have to enter your new details. Make sure you keep a record of your payment plan, username and password for future access. This will have been sent to you by Worldpay in an email.

If you pay by standing order

Please check with your bank that they have set up your standing order correctly and that you have the money in your bank account to make the payments on the due dates.

Please be aware that your bank will only take instructions from you regarding a standing order mandate. Unipol have pre-printed forms that you can complete but it is your responsibility to make sure the bank has received this. If there is not enough money in your account on the payment day, then your bank may decide not to forward the payment to Unipol. If this happens you will have to ask your bank to process the payment again or pay the amount due by an alternative method to Unipol. If a standing order needs cancelling for any reason then you need to contact your bank and instruct them to cancel it before the payment date.

If you are unable to pay on your rent payment date

It is important that if the rent is due and you are not able to pay that you contact the finance office to either arrange a short delay in the payment due date or agree a payment plan to help you complete your payments. If you have difficulty paying because of a cash flow problem and you need extra time, or you wish to discuss any special arrangements because of financial problems, please contact the Finance staff who will do their very best to help you.

Unipol try to be flexible and helpful. It is not, however, Unipol's intention to become a bank and ‘lend’ money to students so we often advise students to seek assistance from the banks if you are having problems in meeting your obligations.

What happens if you miss payment dates

If you miss a payment and have not been in touch about it, Unipol will take the following steps:

Step One - the first letter will be sent out 7 days after the due date
This will normally be accompanied by a text message and/or an e-mail. The letter will give 10 days to respond.
Step Two - after 10 days a further text message and e-mail will be send and we will try to phone you drawing your attention to the debt and the lack of payment. You will be given a further three working days to respond.
Step Three - after 3 days a second letter should be sent, including to your home address, together with a text message and e-mail making clear that payment needed to be immediate otherwise, after 7 days, the matter would be referred to solicitors without further notification. If you are sent this letter you will incur a further £15 charge.
At this stage a £15.00 charge is made to cover administration costs of having to pursue you for payment and if you are a joint tenant your co tenants will be told of your debt and the possibility of them having to cover this amount if you do not.
At this stage if we have not heard from you Unipol may disconnect additional services to you such as the Internet or gym access.
Step Four - after seven days a solicitor's letter will be issued giving a further 7 days for payment. The cost of referring the matter to the solicitor will be passed onto you.
Step Five - after that seven days, unless a significant payment is made then Court Action should be initiated to collect the debt and repossession papers should be served which would enable an eviction to take place. It is possible that a debt collection agency may be involved to recover the debt even after eviction. There are some charges that will be added to your account if Unipol goes through the above process

If your payment is late, for any reason, then, in accordance with your tenancy agreement, you can be charged a late payment fee of £30.

A summary of charges made in the rent collection process:

A charge of £30.00 will be made if your rent is not paid on the due date.
Unipol will charge £15.00 for each letter we write to you chasing any arrears on your account.
Unipol will charge £10.00 for each payment that is rejected by your bank (i.e. bounced cheques).
If you remain in arrears, Unipol will send a solicitor’s letter and a further charge to cover the cost of this will be passed onto you.

Ultimately Unipol will obtain a County Court Judgement against you. This can affect your credit rating and cause you difficulties in the future when you want to obtain credit cards, bank loans and mortgages. Unipol will pass on any costs involved in doing this.

Although the above system may appear harsh it is transparent and necessary.

If you have a debt with Unipol you will not be able to sign a further tenancy agreement with Unipol.

Hardship Funds

If you are experiencing financial hardship then detailed below are the relevant organisations that you need to talk to as a matter of urgency:

University of Leeds – financialaid@leeds.ac.uk or ring 0113 343 2007

Leeds Metropolitan University – su.studentadvice@leedsmet.ac.uk or ring 0113 812 8408

Leeds College of Art & Design – info@leeds-art.ac.uk or ring 0113 202 8111

Leeds College of Music – h.holehan@lcm.ac.uk or ring Heather Holehan, Student Fees & Funding Manager on 0113 222 3419

Trinity & All Saints – studentfinance@leedstrinity.ac.uk or ring 0113 283 7173

What happens if you move out of the Accommodation

If you decide to move out of Unipol accommodation you will still be liable to pay all the rent due under the tenancy agreement. If you have fallen out with your flatmates we suggest that you contact the Tenancy Support Officer at Unipol who may be able to help you to find a way to live together or in extreme circumstances relocate you to other Unipol accommodation.

If you leave University you still have to pay the rent on the Unipol property to the end of the tenancy.

You can find someone else to take over your tenancy and both you and the person who is replacing you must complete the documentation to complete this process. If this is not done, you will still be liable for the rent.

In very exceptional circumstances Unipol may consider releasing you from the tenancy agreement. There is a panel that decides such applications. For further details about this click here.

Energy charges

In a lot of cases students will set up accounts with the energy companies directly and will be responsible for both their energy consumption and bills.

Sometimes these are included in the rent.

In Unipol’s case some students in the larger developments pay a regular amount (supplement) in addition to their rent towards energy bills. The meters are read during the tenancy and Unipol will write to you to let you know if the supplements are meeting your energy consumption.

You can therefore gauge how much energy you are using and can reduce consumption to reduce your bills. At the end of the tenancy, the meters are read and the charge for the actual amount of energy you have used will be calculated. You will then either pay more money to cover the cost or be refunded some money if you have paid for more energy than you have used. For more information visit the energy supplement page