Back on air shortly

After a Christmas and New Years break that included jumping off the world’s highest bungee jump bridge! The cardifference show and xpress will be back up and running later this month, will be keep you posted.

But with the surge in students starting to look for housing to rent for next academic year there has been a number of housing advice weeks with key advice about what to avoid. We have recently had lots of e-mails and enquiries about housing so here are some key pointers and reminders

The most important piece of advice is Don’t Rush – make the smart move.

Remember there is more housing than demand: So don’t panic.

www.cardiffdigs.co.uk have been giving out ‘Avoiding the pitfalls’ information, but it is worth reminding you that this information is available here in the section from halls to house
A podcast with housing hunting advice and avoiding the pitfalls is available here

The Advice and Representation Centre has also created a housing booklet relevant for all students and an interview and transcript with Jane Harding from the advice centre about housing tips can be found here

Anne Rowland has also been on hand at the various events making sure students are aware of The Landlord Accreditation Wales, Letting Agents and Additional Licensing
For example there are over 90 unaccredited letting agencies in Cardiff. Anyone can open up a letting agency (you can even have a criminal record)

So ensure your letting agent is registered with a regulatory body such as ALMA (Cardiff) ARLA, NALS, RICS or NAEA (search here) who provide minimum set standards to abide by.

Also make sure your landlord is accredited through Landlord Accreditation Wales (LAW).

You should see landlords and agents who are part of the Landlord Accreditation Wales (LAW) scheme as the people to approach first when finding accommodation to rent. They will treat you professionally and you know that they have all the knowledge necessary to ensure that your time in their property is enjoyable and hassle free.

To assist you in finding accredited landlords in your area, covering different types of accommodation, please use the search facility here just search Cardiff as your local authority.