Hello all and welcome to my first blog in a new series on my preparation and experience as a Study Abroad student at KCL! In this blog, I will give some insights and tips on some of the best practices for when you are preparing to go abroad as well as comparing the different budgetary challenges in London and my chosen destination! I hope this series can be helpful not only to students who are going abroad next year but also those who are pondering whether to apply to go abroad in years to come and who want a clearer picture of what to expect if they do apply.
So just for a bit of context, my name is Tom and I am currently in my second year studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics. I first heard about the opportunity to spend my second semester abroad during an open day at KCL a few years ago and after looking at all of the available destinations for my course, one clearly stood out for me – Singapore. Having the opportunity to study at the National University of Singapore seemed to fulfil everything I wanted from going abroad, which included seeing a part of the world I’ve never been to before, and taking modules that would never be available at King’s.
The first topic I wanted to focus on in this series is housing, as this is an issue that will affect all Semester two outgoing study abroad students. The key issue here is finding housing only for Semester one as most contracts you find are for the entire academic year. However, depending on your contract, there may be several ways to get around this.
Can I sublet?
You may think of subletting, where you effectively rent out your room whilst you are abroad. However, some contracts forbid this practice so always make sure to check this beforehand. If your contract does allow subletting, make sure to get permission from your landlord first. Be aware that by subletting, you have certain responsibilities, such as making sure your subtenants have the right to rent in the UK.
The King’s Money and Housing Advice Service operate a great service where they can check your contract and tell you if subletting is allowed and if so, what your responsibilities will be. You can access their services here.
What about assignment?
Assignment is when someone else can take over your contract through what is known as a deed of assignment. This will then remove your legal liability to your previous contract.
However, there are some caveats here, such as the fact that you may need to pay a fee to assign a tenancy but this should not exceed £50 as per the Tenants Fee Act 2019. The landlord, any joint tenants and also the new tenant must sign the deed of assignment so any flatmates you have would have to agree to this.
Can I use a break clause?
A break clause is when you end your tenancy earlier than the original end date, but different contracts will have different dates for when the contract can be ended so make sure you check this. Note that if you are in a joint tenancy, every tenant needs to activate this clause for it to be considered valid.
How to find someone to sublet or assign to
The first port of call can be to see if any of your friends or course mates will be looking for accommodation whilst you are abroad but if this doesn’t work out, you can use services like the University of London’s Flatmate Finder or the KCL Flatmate Finder Hub to find interested students. You could also advertise on websites such as Spareroom.
You could always become a subtenant yourself or take over someone else’s contract through assignment but make sure that your deposit is properly protected and the landlord is aware of the situation.
There is also the option of King’s Residences or private student halls, who may offer contracts shorter than one year, but this is not guaranteed.
For more advice on how to find short-term housing, this article gives you some more useful information about what to do when you move out of London for a semester.
So hopefully this blog has been helpful in giving you some info and tips on how to find housing if you’re an outgoing Study Abroad student or if you are thinking of applying in the future. Don’t hesistate to conact the King’s Money and Housing Service if you have any questions. I’ll see you in my next blog!
Tom Appleby
King’s Student Money Mentor
Part of Money & Housing Advice
The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts.