Household insurance
Firstly, make sure you get your possessions insured. You may find that your belongings are covered under your parents’ contents insurance. If not, Endsleigh offer a good deal for students.

Securing your home
You should also think carefully about how secure your property is, ideally before you sign the contract. If need be, ask the landlord to improve the locks and install security lighting. Read these safety tips for more hints on how to keep your property secure.

Safety at home
As well as making your property as secure as possible you should check it’s safe to live in. One of the ways you can do this is by ensuring the property has a working smoke alarm. To make sure an alarm is functioning check the batteries by pushing the button on the alarm. You should do this once a week. You should also change the batteries once a year. When you move into a new house it’s best to change the batteries immediately as you can’t be sure how old they are.

Another check you should do, ideally prior to moving into a property, is to verify all the gas appliances have up to date inspection certificates. The law requires all landlords to ensure gas appliances in a property are safe and checked annually by a person registered with the Council for Registered Gas Installers (CORGI). When you move into a property the landlord MUST give you a copy of a CORGI certificate showing that the appliances are safe to use.