The Union is planning an independent website for students, where they can go online and rate their student house.
What many students don’t realise, there are more houses in Loughborough then there are actually students so competition is fierce to fill their lets!
You may have thought it was weird that a month into the new academic year, some agencies take it upon themselves to start advertising their properties straight away when students have hardly even settled into their year.
This gives students the completely wrong impression that if they don’t sort their house out quickly, they will miss out on the best ones and be left with some grotty student dive.
At Loughborough, that is hardly an issue at all. Landlords are fighting to let their houses and the SU holds two housing bazaars a year to help those competitive landlords have the opportunity to advertise their properties. It also gives students a great chance to see everything that is on offer.
But is it really fair? Are the best landlords always the ones who can spend the most on advertising? What about the private landlord who only lets one house-how can they let students know about them?
So the executive have started planning a website – something a bit like Trip Advisor – to help students not only find houses, but see what other students thought of it.
It will rate the house, its amenities, and also the service of the landlord/agency.
No landlord will have to pay to have their houses showcased and it will be an equal slot for every property.
But what is important to students when they are looking for a house? The size of the bedrooms? The responsiveness of the landlord? The proximity to campus/town?
This website will be launched by next years’ executive and it would be great if you guys could let me know what you would find useful about a website like this and how best you see it working.
Thanks for your help,
Hoppo
