How to handle enquiries to secure a let

You'll receive an email directly when a student requests a viewing of one of your properties via our website. You can opt-in to receive SMS notifications (via the Account section of the dashboard). However, enquiries come through 24 hours a day, so text notifications may not always be ideal.

The student who enquired will also receive a text and email to confirm their request for a booking. This notification states that they should expect to hear back from you within 24 hours.

You can view and manage all enquiries you have received in your dashboard under the Enquiries tab. 

On receipt of the enquiry, you should contact the potential tenant within 24 hours. This is the recommended time to respond, or you risk losing that enquiry to other bookings that may have been made. When students don't hear back from a letting agent within 24 hours, they often become frustrated. We aim to avoid this, as it can provide a negative experience using our site.

It’s recommended to book a viewing when all (or most) of the housemates are free to view the home together, as this will avoid any delay in the group signing up or requiring additional viewings.

When booking the viewing, we recommend highlighting to your team that this appointment was sourced via UniHomes. This will remind the agent who leads the viewing that the enquiry is all-inclusive. The viewing, and any other properties that are shown during, should be lead with this in mind.

Having submitted the enquiry through UniHomes.co.uk, the tenants are interested in renting this property on an all-inclusive basis. The agent leading the viewing should ensure they are prepared. Things to remember are:

- What’s included (Gas, Electricity, Water, TV Licence, Internet)

- The all-inclusive price (rent + utilities)

- The utility package price is subject to change, in line with our Terms and Conditions

When the group are ready to sign for the property, they should complete both your tenancy agreement and the UniHomes utility form at the same time.

You should ensure that students understand that they are signing two separate agreements:

- Your Tenancy Agreement

- UniHomes Utility Form

Upon signing, you should explain to the group that they will each receive a Direct Debit set-up request from UniHomes (via email). These requests needs to be signed by all tenants ASAP.

Once the utility form is completed it should be returned to us within 48 hours. To send this back, you can scan or take a photo of the form and return to the UniHomes head office by emailing to orders@unihomes.co.uk. If for any reason, you are unable to complete the entire form (perhaps all tenants are unavailable to sign on the same day), send over the part-completed form. Follow up with the fully completed form at the first opportunity.