Over your time at uni, it is likely that you have accumulated a lot of stuff. Whether it is clothes, furniture, books or boxsets, when it comes to packing up your room for the summer, you may find that you have a little more than you anticipated. That’s why we are running our annual Shift Your Stuff campaign, where you can donate your unwanted items and we will organise for them to go to one of fifteen participating charities.

How does it work?

1. Collect your stickers and red bag

Available from between 31 May-29 June from the Union’s Highfield Reception … Read the rest

Would you like to have a month off paying your rent or get yourself some fancy furniture for your student pad?

We’re offering you the chance to do just that by completing our annual housing survey here.

Why do you want to know about my housing experience?

Every year we ask students to complete our housing survey, so that we can keep track of the cost of student rent, to ensure we provide a competitive service at our very agency, SUSU Lettings, and so we can give you the information you need to pick the right place for … Read the rest

Welcome to the second installment in our three-part blog series about how you can save money in Southampton. Last week, we looked at how to save money on shopping/food and this time, we are going to impart our wisdom about how to save energy on your house. Both good for the planet and your wallet, these tips are not to be missed! If you’ve got any advice that you think would help other students, then please get in touch via our Twitter page @yoursusu.

Saving Energy Around the House

– Get leaky taps fixed, if your taps are constantly … Read the rest

Finding a new place to host those legendary pre-parties can be difficult, time-consuming and stressful. There’s always a huge pressure to get it done as soon as possible out of fear that all the good houses will go! Below are a few tips to make finding your new digs a walk in the park.

Before you start

Before you start viewing houses you need to decide who you are living with and specifically how many of you there will be in the house. 4/5 is the most common number, which on the one hand means there are a lot of … Read the rest

How many times have you signed up to something without reading the small print? Whether it be a mobile phone contract, mailing list, terms and conditions on a social media account or even your housing contract, we have all done it. We all know we shouldn’t, but who has the time to traipse through pages of size 8 font just in case something is important, right?!

Well, we are here to help. It is really important that you do read the small print with whatever it is you are signing to ensure that you don’t get yourself into any issues … Read the rest

It’s that time of year again: the housing frenzy has descended upon us. You haven’t found somewhere to live next year, you have no idea who you’ll be moving in with and various letting agents and landlords may have convinced you that you need to get a move on.

But we’re here to tell you – Don’t Rush to Rent!

Sadly, we know of far too many students who, under pressure to commit, have ended up in some unpleasant situations that could easily have been avoided. Damp, mould and pests rank highly in the list of housing issues experienced … Read the rest

With Christmas fast approaching, most of you will be preparing to head home to celebrate with your families. But with 70% of student homes being left empty throughout the festive period, this really is ‘the most wonderful time of the year’ for burglars looking to strike it lucky.

It is estimated that the average person takes £1,000 worth of equipment to university. With 70% of students owning a computer or laptop, and 86% of you with mobile phones, unprotected student housing presents a veritable goldmine for any opportunistic thief. So it’s no surprise that 1 in 3 students… Read the rest

No doubt students will be starting to think about their accommodation arrangements for next year, and there will be some of you who will be tempted to start house hunting as early as before Christmas. We’re here to reassure you not to panic! As part of our Don’t Rush campaign, we’re encouraging you to hold off until after exams finish in January. This way, you will be able to:

• Visit our Housing Advice Fayre
• Consider applying for halls with friends
• Get to know potential housemates and make an informed choice about who they’re going to be living with
• Look at

The horror stories surrounding student housing are awful, and so here at SUSU we decided we wanted to do something about it. In 2012 we launched the Vent About Your Rent survey, which collects information from students across the board on what they think about their housing. This, standing alongside the SUSU Lettings Agency, has meant we’ve been able to help students avoid being pushed around by dodgy letting agents and rogue landlords.

We’ve just opened up the survey for 2015, and need your help filling it in. Your answers will enable students next year to make informed decisions … Read the rest

We’re launching our annual survey that gives you the chance to let us know how your house has treated you this year – it’s time to Vent About Your Rent! There’s a £250 prize up for grabs if you fill out the survey – tempted yet?

If you think you’ve had a raw deal with your house – whether that’s overpriced rent, unexpected extra costs, poor maintenance, pests or mould, now’s the time to shout about it. Whether it’s a straightforward problem or just something that’s been bugging you all year, we know that there are all sorts … Read the rest