Your Tenancy information pack
A handy guide to help you out during your time with us...
Above you can download your Tenancy information pack and save it somewhere to reference throughout your time with us. You can even print it off and pin it to your noticeboard! Below is some useful information to get you started, feel free to bookmark this page for your reference too.
Who to contact and how
We have two departments at CSL, Sales and Property Management.
Our Sales team are based at our office on Garden Lane and will assist if you are looking for a new house.
Our Property Management team work remotely and will be available to help with all issues throughout your tenancy. You can contact them by emailing [email protected], logging a task on Arthur or by phoning 01244 374650 (option 2).
Should you ever want to speak to someone from our Property Management team in person, you can do this by booking an appointment to meet with Kat at our office. Just send an email to [email protected] with your request and we will book you in.
Normal business hours
Both teams (and our sales office opening hours) – 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday
Remember we’re not open on weekends or Bank holidays!
For out of hours emergency/ urgent repairs please call 07713 577121 – please note you must leave a voicemail to receive a return call. This number is not 24 hours, but it is checked regularly.
Smoking policy
Your house is strictly no smoking.
You are not permitted to smoke in any room of the house at any time, under any circumstances. If there is any evidence of smoking in your house the person or people responsible will be charged for redecoration and replacement of any affected furnishings, including carpets. This includes for the removal of smell not just physical damage.
Alarms
If you live in a house with two floors, you have ‘mains-linked’ smoke detectors. Should you ever have any issues please contact Peter Satchwell on 07568 553103.
If you live in a house with three floors, you have a fire alarm and emergency lighting. Should you ever set your alarm off by accident and there is definitely not a fire then please:
1. Press ALT button then the Pin Number 514
2. Press silence alarms
If any red lights are showing on the panel box stating fault, please contact Peter Satchwell on 07734 812227.
Keys
You are given a complete set of keys at the start of your tenancy. These keys are your responsibility at all times during your tenancy, and for your safety and the safety of your housemates, if any keys are lost you must inform us by email immediately. If you feel at any time that the security of the house has been put at risk due to lost keys, you must let us know straight away.
A copy of your keys will be available to borrow for you to get a new one cut from our office on Garden Lane, however, you must leave a cash deposit of £30 per key you borrow and keys borrowed must be returned the same working day or you will lose your deposit.
All keys must be returned to us by no later than 9:30am on the final day of your tenancy or there will be a charge for replacement locks and keys.
Rubbish and recycling
You are responsible for managing your own waste and recycling. Depending where you live your bin collection will be any weekday. You will be sent this information separately as well as reminders the day before.
Regardless of what day your waste is collected, Chester works on a two-week cycle. Your recycling boxes are collected every single week and your general waste is only collected once a fortnight. Please do pay attention to reminders we send you as the council will fine you if you get this wrong!
Please never store waste or recycling at the front of your house unless it is your collection day.
House rules
Washing up
Be courteous to your housemates by washing all of your crockery, cutlery, pans, pots, utensils, etc. after use. Do not leave them for others to do.
Cleaning
Clean and hoover all rooms regularly to avoid a big build-up that you will be responsible for removing at the end of your tenancy. You’ll want to make sure that no area of your house is left unclean.
Be considerate to others
In the morning and late evenings loud music, TV, banging doors, shouting, etc. will potentially disturb your other housemates and definitely disturb your neighbours. After 10pm please keep this to a minimum.
Energy saving
Protect your environment and switch off all your personal electrics when not in use.
Bins
Empty them regularly, and don’t allow rotten food to stink up your house – you’ll regret it! When waste is being stored please ensure all bags are tied up, and should anyone (or any thing!) root through them you’ll need to re-bag them and put them out ready for waste collection.
Personal belongings
Try to keep all your own possessions in your own room, except kitchen items e.g. pots and pans, etc. Please don’t clutter up communal areas and hallways with belongings as this could cause a fire hazard.
Posters and photos
Hanging up anything on the walls using any form or pin, tack, blue-tac/ white-tac or adhesives makes marks on the walls which you will be charged for. We suggest using frames and stands if you want to display items in your room.
Viewings
If you choose not to renew your home for the following academic year, we will be conducting viewings and ask you to permit access to members of the CSL team and potential tenants in order to assist with re-letting. Remember, you went on viewings in order to choose your home, so please allow the same courtesy for future tenants.
Follow all of these house rules and what you’ve signed up to in your contract, and you’ll be a great tenant!
Black mould
What is black mould?
Black mould is most commonly caused by lifestyle and is a result of condensation, mainly occurring in the cold weather. It appears when moisture in the air condenses on the coldest surfaces and in places where there is little or no movement of air.
How to avoid condensation - prevention is better than cure!
Keep your house warm – in cold weather keep low background heating on all day, to reduce condensation
Ventilation – keep a small window open in all rooms, wherever possible, to release moisture in air
If your kitchen and bathroom are fitted with an extractor fan, please use them or open a window if a large amount of steam is generated
Reduce moisture/ condensation – do not dry wet clothes on radiators. Use a clothes line or use a dryer either at home or at a launderette
In extreme circumstances a de-humidifier can be purchase from places like B&Q or Argos, and if used in conjunction with an oscillating fan will assist with air movement in the room and will drastically reduce humidity in the room.
Note: if de-humidifiers are used, you’ll need to empty the water regularly.
How to remove black mould
Things you will need:
- Rubber gloves
- Clean bucket Sponge Bleach
- Washing up liquid
- Old clean towels / floor coverings
- Prepare the surrounding surfaces, as bleach can ruin fabrics and carpet
Add about 1-part bleach to 10 parts water.
Sponge the mixture thoroughly onto the mouldy areas and let it sit for at least 15 minutes.
If particularly stubborn, repeat the process and increase to 1-part bleach to 5-part water and leave for further 20 minutes.
Add a little washing up liquid to clean water and wash the area down. Then rinse it completely with clean water and dry it with old towels.
The cleaning may have discoloured the wall, if so please let us know.
Please note: that unless moisture is controlled as explained above, mould will return particularly during cold weather.