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Safiya Omer
HOUSING MANAGER (she/her)
Safiya oversees the management of LUSU Living and the team of staff.
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Varick Chautard
ADMINISTRATOR (he/him)
Varick provides administrative support for LUSU Living, by monitoring the Living inbox and answering tenant and landlord queries.
Who Are We?
LUSU Living manages a wide range of accredited Lancaster University student properties. Our aim is to provide a quality management service to our tenants and landlords.
Our main focus is offering Students a great place to live and in a property that is fully accredited by Lancaster University which provides our customers and Property Owners the guarantee that all our properties meet the required Health and safety standard. Our team is committed to working with suppliers and service providers to deliver the very best HMO student accommodation and supportive management packages to students at Lancaster University and the University of Cumbria.
This approach has allowed us to grow our portfolio of properties whilst gaining a reputation for compliant and affordable student housing in Lancaster, We operate directly from Lancaster University, Students Union office and we offer our tenants reasonable rents, fair contracts and superb support.
All our undergraduate shared household rents include:
Gas, electric & Water
TV + TV Licence
Fibre broadband (where available) with unlimited downloads
IT support
Personal contents insurance - the same cover as provided by Lancaster University
Regular assisted cleaning
Reliable day to day repairs service provided by our own tradesmen
Emergency out of hours service
We offer Lancaster University & University of Cumbria students more choice and value for money than anyone else in Lancaster. Average rents for 2025/26 are £130.56 per tenant per week with an average 48 week UG lease.
LUSU Living is a part of the Lancaster University Students’ Union, a not-for-profit charity, meaning that any surplus profit is put back into the student experience!
Keep up-to-date with our latest properties, offers, behind-the-scenes and more on our Instagram!
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Students personal possession insurance, Gas and electric up to £15.00 per student, per week, water rates (paid for by the property owner) and our full Wi-Fi service with Utility Warehouse (full fibre where available). TV licence to be purchased by 1 resident, upon receipt into the office a full refund will be given, the refund will only be given if the TV licence is purchased before 20th December. Energy used outside of the £15 per person per property allowance will be passed back to the residents to pay.
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Students personal possession insurance included & water rates (paid for by the property owner)
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Priority one – Emergency repairs within 24 hours – repairs required to avoid a danger to health, risk to the safety and security of residence or serious damage to buildings or residents belongings.
Priority Two – Urgent repairs, within 5 working days. Repairs required which materially effect the comfort or convenience of residents.
Priority Three – Non urgent day to day repairs, within 28 days or by arrangement with residents after that time. (reactive repairs not falling in any of the above categories)
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This number is made available to all our residents outside of our office opening times. This service can be used at your convenience for any problems you may encounter which is deemed as a health and safety issue.
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The relevant “how to rent guide” prescribed by the government & prescribed information relating to the tenancy deposit. Full property inventory, Gas & electric certificates, EPC report & ensure any electrical items are PAT tested in line with Government guidelines. A welcome pack will be provided which includes information regarding how to manage your property and information regarding all of our services.
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Deposits are taken on all our properties. Your deposit will be held by My Deposits who are a government authorised tenancy deposit scheme provider. All our residents will receive a deposit protection certificate within 30 days of the deposit being paid, My Deposits will hold your deposit throughout your tenancy. At the end of your tenancy you will contact My deposits who will release the deposit back to you, once any claims made against your deposit have been agreed.
If you can’t agree with your landlord or agent about the amount of the deposit to be returned, or you are not satisfied with the explanation for withholding the deposit, you can use My Deposits free dispute resolution service to resolve your dispute. This must be done within three months of the date that you moved out of the property.
If you would like any further information, Please click the link to My Deposits - https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/tenant/
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Guarantors are required on all our tenancy contracts unless you wish to pay your rent in full at the start of your contract. A guarantor is someone who agrees to be legally responsible for your property, its condition, and any money owed for rent. This will usually be your parents or guardians, you may also use a company who will provide a service for students who are unable to provide a suitable UK guarantor to satisfy the needs of a tenancy. (Additional fees may apply)
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SU Living do not charge any addition fees in relation to setting up your tenancy contract.
If a tenant requests early contract termination or another tenant to takeover their contract, we charge a £50 administration fee & £80 for a room clean (if the room has been used).
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The landlord or letting agent can claim the reasonable cost incurred for a replacement key, This will be a minimum of £25.00 and up to £35.00 depending on the number of keys required. We will supply the tenant written evidence, for example a receipt, for the amount charged. No amount will be charged in excess of the Cost to replace the keys.
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A landlord or letting agent can require an additional payment if rent remains unpaid. If rent is more than 14 days overdue, SU Living can add interest to the unpaid rent amount. The interest will be no more than 3% above the Bank of England's base rate, for each day the rent is outstanding. The tenancy agreement will clearly state the amount charged for rent arrears and the amount of interest that will be payable. Further information can be found in your tenancy agreement. £10 will be charged for any debt letters that need to be sent to remind the resident to pay. Residents will pay our reasonable costs for any unpaid direct debit or standing order, this will be a minimum of £30 for each time.
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Council tax is the responsibility of the resident living in one of our properties, Households where everyone is a full-time student do not have to pay Council Tax. If you do get a bill, you can apply for an exemption. You will get a Council Tax bill if there’s someone in your household who’s not a full-time student, but your household might still qualify for a discount.
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Reasonable legal and related costs which are incurred in connection with: (i) recovering possession of the property; (ii) recovering unpaid rent or other money due under this agreement; or (iii) steps taken if you fail to keep to the terms of this agreement (including the costs for our attempts to make you keep to this agreement).
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Ensure the outside areas are kept free from rubbish and weeds. You are responsible for maintaining external areas including any shed or other outbuilding, as well as gardens and grass and accept that if these are not returned in the same condition as they were let that you will be responsible for the reasonable costs of the work required to return them to that standard. Tenants to Pay the reasonable cost of any Pest control services that are required at the property, the easiest way to do this is to contact Lancaster county council directly and arrange their visit. Call 01524 582935; Email environmentalhealth@lancaster.gov.uk
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All SU Living tenancy contract are creating through Sturents, StuRents is the UK's leading student accommodation search, property management and data platform that connects renters to over 750,000 student rooms nationwide.
For tenants, StuRents.com provides an online shop window to efficiently find and contract their next home. For operators, StuRents provides an end to end tenancy- management engine to facilitate the full range of operational needs, such as contract signing, rent collection, referencing and deposit protection.
This unique, end-to-end solution underpins StuRents' market-leading data insights, providing independent and granular up-to-date analysis to industry stakeholders.
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Student pad is the software we use to validate our compliance with the LU Homes accreditation and also how we advertise properties through LU Homes and the web page https://housesearch.lusu.co.uk/. No personal data is stored or recorded on this platform.
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All SU Living tenancy contracts are created through Sturents, when the contract is set up all residents must set up a rent collection. The resident will receive a notification through email or their sturents app to set up a rent collection. All residents will accept to pay their rent by direct debit. If for any reason the Direct debit is not paid, the residents bank may charge you a fee for a missed payment.
If any residents are having trouble keeping up with their rent payments, they should contact us at their earliest convenience at the email address su.living@Lancaster.ac.uk, payment plans can be arranged if deemed appropriate.
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All our deposit are collected through Sturents and passed to My deposits, on a few occasions, for instance a tenancy takeover, the deposit may need to be made through our payment terminal in the office or by bank payment. This payment will still be sent to My Deposits and the prescription will be sent to you within 30 days of receipt.
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Offering a full range of Property services & property management at competitive prices. Contact our office on 01524 592170 or email us at su.living@lancaster.ac.uk and we can arrange to come and see you at your property or please call into our offices at the Students Union, Lancaster University.
• Competitive property management fees, 12% plus VAT. All our tenants are required to have a guarantor to guarantee their rent payment.
• Let us manage all the day the day maintenance enquiries and instruct professionals to carry out maintenance. Free access for our tenants though our digital app, this makes it easy to report and track all maintenance.
• Free 24 hours emergency cover for all properties & students
• Exclusive access at the Freshers Fair, we are the only Property management agents able to attend.
• All our properties are fully accredited with LU Homes
• Our offices are situated in the Students Union on Campus, this give us a competitive edge to reaching our target audience. All of our tenants receive a free welcome pack and lots of free items throughout their tenancy. -
SU Living are committed to offering exceptional service to our tenants and landlords, however, we accept that sometimes, things go wrong. If your complaint is not able to be dealt with verbally, then please put your complaint in writing to your property manager, or to su.living@Lancaster.ac.uk. Alternatively, you can post
your complaint to SU Living, Bowland Main, Lancaster University, Students Union, LA1 4YT or telephone 01524 592170We will then acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days of receipt, and begin investigating the issues raised. Once the investigation is complete, we will respond in writing, within 15 days of the correspondence being received.
If you are not satisfied with the response, you can then contact our independent redress scheme within 12 months of our final viewpoint. The Property Redress Scheme (PRS) - 1st Floor, Premiere House, Elstree Way, Borehamwood WD6 1JH
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PRS – Property Redress Scheme - All property agents and professionals carrying out estate, lettings and property management work in the property industry have a legal responsibility to join an authorised redress scheme and signpost this to their customer.NRLA – National Residential Landlord Association - The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) is the UK's largest membership organisation for private residential landlords in England and Wales, supporting and representing over 100,000 members. NRLA members range from full-time landlords running property portfolios to those letting single bedroom flats. Whatever their status, most landlords face the same regulatory and legal challenges, with over 150 pieces of legislation creating hundreds of legal obligations for the private residential lettings sector. NRLA seek a fair legal and regulatory environment for both landlord and tenant and actively lobby the Government on behalf of our members. NRLA membership connects us with a wide range of resources - including access to business information, training, professional expertise, a leading publication and much more.
LU Homes Accreditation - The Lancaster University Homes Standard details the terms and conditions that applicants and members sign up to when they register with or renew their membership of the Lancaster University Homes Accreditation Scheme. Only accommodation accredited with Lancaster University Homes is approved by Lancaster University, the University of Cumbria and Lancaster City Council. The Scheme is wholly owned and administered by Lancaster University. Lancaster University will endeavour to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, that applicants and properties meet the Standard prior to approving membership by inspecting all properties registered with the Scheme and by checking available records such as student complaints for compliance.
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L.U.S.U Housing Limited trading as SU Living are members of the ICO (information Commissioners Office) – Reference: ZA195340
Controller and Contact Information
LUSU Housing Ltd is the data controller and is responsible for your personal data.If you have any questions about this privacy notice, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact Chris Cottam using the details set out below:
Email address: c.cottam1@lancaster.ac.uk
Postal address: Lancaster University Students Union, Bailrigg, Bowland College, Lancaster LA1 4YTTelephone number: 01524 594327
Complaints
You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.
For more information, visit our LUSU Living FAQs Page.
