What to Do Before You Move In: A Student Checklist for St Andrews

Move-in day has a way of absorbing all your of attention — hire van, boxes, flatmates, parents — which makes it easy to arrive at a property and discover problems that could have been identified and resolved in advance. A brief conversation with your agent or landlord in the days beforehand is worth the effort.

The first thing to confirm is the practical logistics. Where are the keys being collected from, at what time, and who needs to be there? If you’re collecting from the agent’s office, check their opening hours — some St Andrews agents have limited Saturday hours and are closed Sundays. If keys are being handed over by the landlord directly, make sure a time is agreed rather than assumed.

More importantly, use this conversation to follow up on anything that was promised at the viewing or during the negotiation process. If the agent said the oven would be professionally cleaned, the broken blind in the second bedroom would be replaced, or the garden would be tidied before you moved in — confirm it by email before move-in day, not when you’re standing in the property with a van outside. Verbal assurances given during viewings don’t always make it to the landlord, and once you’ve moved in, the leverage to get things done drops significantly.

It’s also worth asking at this stage for any documents you haven’t yet received: the full tenancy agreement if you haven’t signed it already, the property’s Energy Performance Certificate, and confirmation of which deposit protection scheme your deposit has been registered with. You’re entitled to all of these, and move-in day is a poor moment to be chasing paperwork.

The inventory is a record of the condition of the property and everything in it at the start of your tenancy. It is, without exaggeration, the most important document you’ll deal with during your time in that flat — more consequential in day-to-day terms than the tenancy agreement itself.

Here’s why. At the end of your tenancy, your landlord will inspect the property and compare its condition to the condition it was in when you moved in. If there’s damage, missing items, or significant wear beyond what’s considered fair, they can make deductions from your deposit. The inventory is the baseline that determines what counts as your responsibility and what was already there when you arrived.

Without a clear, agreed inventory, that conversation can go badly for tenants. A landlord who claims the carpet was pristine when you moved in is very difficult to argue with if there’s no document — and no photographs — proving otherwise.

Landlords in Scotland are not legally required to provide an inventory, but most reputable ones do. If yours doesn’t, ask for one. If one still isn’t forthcoming, create your own: go through every room, note the condition of walls, floors, furniture, fixtures and appliances, and send it to the landlord or agent in writing — email is fine — within the first few days of your tenancy. This creates a timestamped record that’s difficult to dispute later.

If you receive an inventory, read it carefully before signing. Don’t sign it on move-in day without checking it against the actual property — descriptions like “good condition” or “minor wear” are subjective, and if you sign without querying them, you’re accepting them. If something is inaccurate, note the discrepancy in writing before returning the signed document.

The inventory and your photographs (see below) work together. One without the other is weaker. Both together give you a strong position if there’s any dispute at the end of the tenancy.

The inventory tells you what should be there and what condition it was in. Your job on move-in day is to verify that record against reality, and to create a photographic archive that backs up everything you find.

Do this before you unpack anything. Once boxes are in rooms and bags are on beds, the property is already starting to look like yours — and it becomes harder to distinguish pre-existing marks and damage from things that happened during the move. Set aside an hour on day one, go through every room methodically, and photograph as you go.

What to check and photograph in every room:

Walls and ceilings — marks, scuffs, holes from picture hooks, damp patches, peeling paint. These are common sources of deposit disputes because they’re easy to miss and easy to blame on tenants.

Floors and carpets — stains, burns, tears, worn patches. Get down to floor level if needed; stains that are invisible standing up are obvious from an angle.

Windows and doors — do they open, close, and lock properly? Note any cracks in glass, damaged frames, or stiff locks.

Furniture — check every item listed in the inventory. Open drawers, look under cushions, note chips, scratches, stains, and anything missing.

Appliances — turn on the oven, hob, washing machine, dishwasher, and any other included appliance and confirm they work. A broken washing machine discovered on move-in day is the landlord’s problem. One reported three weeks later becomes a dispute about who broke it.

Bathroom — look for mould, check that the shower works properly and that water pressure is adequate, test taps, flush the toilet, check the sealant around the bath or shower tray.

Kitchen — check inside cupboards and drawers, look at the condition of worktops and the inside of the oven, note anything left behind by the previous tenants that shouldn’t be there.

Outdoor spaces — if the property includes a garden, bin store, or parking space, photograph these too.

On photographs:

Take more than you think you need. The cost of taking fifty photographs you never use is zero; the cost of not having the one photograph you needed is potentially your deposit.

Make sure photographs are timestamped — most smartphones do this automatically in the file metadata, but it’s worth checking. Send the full set to yourself and one other flatmate by email on move-in day, which creates an independent timestamped record. Do not rely solely on your camera roll, which can be edited or deleted.

For anything that gives you genuine concern — significant damage, something that appears unsafe, an appliance that doesn’t work — notify the landlord or agent in writing on the same day. Keep a copy of that communication.

Taking meter readings on the day you move in is one of the simplest things on this list, and one of the most commonly skipped. The consequence of skipping it is that you may end up paying for energy used by the previous tenants — and unpicking that afterwards is time-consuming and sometimes impossible.

The principle is straightforward. Energy suppliers bill based on the difference between readings. If the opening reading on your account is set too low — because nobody recorded the actual figure on move-in day — you could be charged for consumption that happened before you arrived. Most suppliers are very reasonable, but a meter reading on move in day certainly makes your life easier.

What to do:

On move-in day, before you do much else, locate the gas and electricity meters. In many St Andrews properties these are in a cupboard, utility room, or sometimes externally. If you can’t find them, ask the agent or landlord before move-in day — preferably not while you’re standing in the property trying to work it out.

Take a clear photograph of each meter displaying the current reading. Make sure the reading is legible in the photograph. Note the date.

Submit the readings to the relevant supplier as soon as possible.

In Scotland you almost certainly won’t find a water meter, this is because water is billed differently to how it’s done in England & Wales. In Scotland water rates are included in Council Tax…and as a student household you won’t be paying Council Tax. Bonanza!

One final point: if you’re moving into a property where bills are included in the rent, meter readings matter less to you personally — but it’s still worth recording them, since disputes about bills between landlord and tenant do occasionally arise and a clear move-in reading is useful evidence regardless of who’s responsible for paying.

When you pay a tenancy deposit in Scotland, your landlord is legally required to register it with one of three government-approved deposit protection schemes within 30 working days of the tenancy start date. This isn’t optional, and it applies to all private residential tenancies — including student lets.

The three approved schemes in Scotland are SafeDeposits Scotland, Letting Protection Service Scotland, and mydeposits Scotland. Your landlord must use one of these. They cannot hold your deposit themselves, place it in an ordinary bank account, or use any other scheme.

Within 30 working days of your tenancy starting, your landlord must also send you a document called the Prescribed Information — a formal notification confirming which scheme holds your deposit, the scheme’s contact details, and the process for getting your deposit back at the end of the tenancy. If you haven’t received this, ask for it.

How to check your deposit is protected:

Each of the three schemes has a deposit checker on its website where you can search using your postcode and tenancy details. If your deposit is registered with that scheme, it will show up. Run the check on all three if you’re not sure which one your landlord uses.

Do this check around the 30 working day mark — not immediately after paying, since landlords have the full 30 days to register. If the deadline passes and you can’t find your deposit registered with any scheme, contact your landlord or agent in writing and ask for confirmation.

What if it hasn’t been protected?

If a landlord fails to protect a deposit or provide the Prescribed Information on time, tenants in Scotland can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) for a penalty of up to three times the deposit amount. This is a meaningful remedy, and the process is accessible — you don’t need a solicitor to make an application.

In practice, the majority of reputable landlords and agents protect deposits correctly and on time. But it costs you nothing to check, and the protection it gives you is significant.

Moving into a new flat comes with an administrative burden, which isn’t onerous but you might not be used to. Bills and broadband are the two areas most likely to cause friction between flatmates if they’re not set up clearly from the start — not because the amounts are large, but because vague arrangements have a way of becoming resentments over time.

Establish what’s included and what isn’t

The first thing to clarify is what, if anything, is covered by your rent. Some St Andrews landlords include energy or even broadband in the rental price — particularly in purpose-built student accommodation. Most private lets don’t include anything beyond the property itself. Check, don’t assume.

Council tax is worth flagging specifically. Full-time students are exempt, but the exemption isn’t automatic — you need to apply to Fife Council with proof of student status, and if even one non-student lives in the property, the situation becomes more complicated. Sort this early; council tax can accumulate quickly.

Energy

If the property comes with an existing supplier, you’re not obliged to stay with them. You can switch, though in practice most student groups don’t bother for a one-year tenancy. What matters more is setting up the account in the right name promptly, submitting your move-in meter readings (see above), and agreeing how the bills will be split.

Equal split is the simplest arrangement and works well for most groups. If there’s a significant difference in bedroom sizes and the group wants rent to reflect that, it’s reasonable to apply the same logic to bills — but agree it upfront rather than revisiting it mid-year.

Broadband

This is the one to prioritise. Broadband installation lead times can be longer than expected — in some cases two to three weeks from order to activation — and an entire flat without internet in the first weeks of term is a significant inconvenience. Order it as early as you can, ideally before you move in.

One person will need to take the contract in their name. Make sure the group has a clear understanding of how that cost is being recovered from everyone else — monthly transfer, inclusion in a bills pool, or whatever works for your group. The person whose name is on the contract is liable for it regardless of what flatmates contribute.

A bills-splitting app can make ongoing management simpler. Several are available and widely used by student households — they track who has paid what and who owes whom, which removes the awkwardness of chasing flatmates for money and keeps everything visible to the whole group.

Set it up together

The best time to have the bills conversation is before you move in, not after. Who takes which account, how costs are split, and how payment is managed — agreeing these things in advance, even informally, means move-in day is about settling in rather than negotiating.

Something will go wrong at some point during your tenancy. A boiler will stop working, a washing machine will develop a fault, a window latch will break. This is normal, and in a well-managed property it should be straightforward to resolve — but only if you know who to contact and what to expect when you do.

Get the right contact details before you need them

On or before move-in day, confirm the following with your agent or landlord:

Who is the day-to-day contact for repairs and maintenance — is it the agent, the landlord directly, or a property manager? In St Andrews, many properties are managed by letting agents who handle repairs on the landlord’s behalf. Know which situation you’re in.

What is the best way to report a repair — phone, email, or an online portal? Some agents have formal reporting systems; others prefer a phone call. Ask, and then use the method they specify, because it creates a record and ensures the report reaches the right person.

Is there an emergency out-of-hours contact? For urgent issues — total loss of heating in winter, a significant water leak, a security problem — you need a number you can call outside office hours. Get this number before you need it.

Understand what counts as urgent

Not every repair is an emergency, and treating routine maintenance as urgent is unlikely to endear you to your landlord. A useful distinction:

Urgent repairs are those affecting health, safety, or security — no heating or hot water, a gas leak, flooding, a broken lock on an external door. These warrant immediate contact and, if the landlord is unresponsive, there are legal remedies available to you.

Routine repairs are everything else — a dripping tap, a broken appliance that isn’t the only one of its kind, a stiff door. These should be reported promptly in writing but don’t require an emergency response.

Always report in writing (as well)

Whatever the issue, follow up any phone conversation with an email or message confirming what you reported and when. This creates a record that protects you if the repair isn’t carried out and you need to escalate. A landlord who denies being told about a problem has a much harder case when there’s a timestamped email in your sent folder.

Know your rights if repairs aren’t done

Under a Scottish Private Residential Tenancy, landlords are legally obliged to keep the property in a reasonable state of repair and ensure it meets the Repairing Standard — a set of minimum conditions covering structure, heating, plumbing, and safety. If a repair isn’t being dealt with in a reasonable timeframe, you can contact your local council’s private renting team or apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber). You do not need a solicitor to do this.

What you should not do is withhold rent as a response to an unresolved repair. It’s understandable as a frustration, but it places you in breach of the tenancy and weakens your legal position considerably.

A note on flatmate coordination

In a shared property, make sure all flatmates know where the key contacts are stored. A boiler breaking on a Tuesday morning when the flatmate who dealt with the agent is in a nine o’clock lecture is not the moment to be searching through someone else’s emails for a phone number. Keep a shared note — even a piece of paper on the kitchen noticeboard — with the agent or landlord’s name, phone number, email, and the location of the stopcock and fuse box.