Everything you need to know to find your child a comfortable and reliable home away from home. Provided by Thornsett Properties, Sheffield’s trusted family-owned student landlord since 1985.
Thornsett Properties has been providing quality student accommodation in Sheffield since 1985. We are a family-owned business with extensive property knowledge and take pride in offering end-to-end services to students, professionals and those needing commercial premises. We own all of our properties and are not letting agents, so we are able to offer a wide range of support services to all of our tenants in an efficient and timely manner.
Our in-house maintenance team are on hand to ensure our properties are always well-maintained and comfortable. We operate an out-of-hours service and our online repair reporting service ensures problems are dealt with quickly.
We have a vast portfolio of properties suitable for both students and professionals, and we also offer a number of commercial premises. For those looking for their ideal Sheffield Student Accommodation in Crookesmoor or Broomhill, we can accommodate over 410 individuals. If the City Centre is better suited we have an additional 230 beds available. Some of our properties are for professionals only whilst many are suitable for dual occupancy. We have a range of student accommodation in Sheffield including houses and apartments ideal for groups, individuals or couples. Please get in touch to find out more!
We understand many of our tenants are young adults experiencing their first time being away from home and, as a parent, you may wish to be involved with any queries or concerns relating to their tenancy with us. However, due to GDPR rules, we cannot discuss matters relating to a specific tenancy with you without the tenants written permission. To help manage this, we have created a handy consent form which the tenants can fill out to provide authority for us to speak with parents on their behalf.
We can of course, still answer any queries that do not relate to a specific tenancy and we’re always happy to help where we can. Simply give us a call on 0114 266 9700 or drop us an email to info@thornsett.com.
Whilst we generally do not need to get involved with issues that do not relate to our properties, we are always happy to point our residents in the right direction if they need extra support with something. Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University have a wide range of support services for students both on and off campus. They can offer help with finances, mental and physical health, accommodation concerns (privately rented as well as university halls) and lots more. All information can be found on each universities website.
We can of course, still answer any queries that do not relate to a specific tenancy and we’re always happy to help where we can. Simply give us a call on 0114 266 9700 or drop us an email to info@thornsett.com.
Most first year students start off in University halls. These are a great place to meet new friends as most students are in the same boat of not knowing anybody. When they move on to second year they generally look to move to a house (PRS) with their friends or into a PBSA block. For most, a student house is like a right of passage, though not all are equal. Many houses look great in the pictures, but for some the service received post moving in leaves a lot to be desired. This is where we are different – as we own all of our properties, we are able to provide top quality service and deal with issues promptly without having to go through managing agents and private landlords which leads to delays. We pride ourselves on our service, and this has given us a great reputation amongst Sheffield Students, with many staying with us in either the same or different properties for the duration of their studies.
PBSA blocks are a relatively new concept, with many cropping up in Sheffield over the last few years. These are more akin to a hotel, with communal facilities such as gyms and breakout rooms, and whilst they look fresh and modern, they tend to feel less homely and are normally a much more expensive option.
Suitable for groups, Our shared student houses in Crookesmoor offer the perfect blend of comfort, convenience, and community, all within easy reach of campus.
Live at the centre of it all in a modern, one-bedroom self-contained flat, giving you the privacy of your own space with the university and city life on your doorstep.
Enjoy the extra space and comfort of our modern 2 and 3 bedroom flats, ideal for pairing up with friends while still having room to study and relax.
A large number of students (around 70%) now opt for bills included packages with Unihomes. Unihomes are a Sheffield based independent utilities managing agent who operate nationwide, providing all-in-one utilities packages to take the stress out of arranging for and paying utility bills in student properties. Students can sign up to a utilities package via our tenancy agreements, with Unihomes taking care of the rest. Unihomes set up fixed monthly direct debit payments from each individual tenant to cover the cost of gas, electric, water, tv licence and broadband.
As well as providing the assurance of a fixed monthly fee, Students can rest easy knowing they won’t need to badger housemates for their share of a bill or risk a large bill at the end of the year. There’s also no standard usage cap, so the heating can be left on without worry! At the end of the year, they’ll receive a confirmation email that all payments are up to date, which helps speed up the deposit release process.
More information on Unihomes can be found here – https://www.unihomes.co.uk/
In Sheffield, the student lettings season generally starts around the first or second week of October, with most properties let by mid December. This may seem early in the academic year, but it has been the trend for many years now.
The vast majority of our student tenancies run from 1st July though there are a few exceptions (generally in smaller 1-2 bedroom properties and our city centre apartments).
A guarantor is a person, usually a parent or close relative, who agrees to co-sign a tenancy agreement and accept financial responsibility for the tenant’s obligations. This means the guarantor is legally bound to cover the rent or any costs associated with damages should the student tenant fail to pay. Landlords typically require a guarantor, particularly for students who do not have a steady income, to ensure that the rent payments are secure and the property is protected. Serving as a guarantor provides an essential layer of security for the tenancy and is a standard requirement for most student properties in Sheffield and across the UK.
We provide our tenants with extensive information ahead of them moving in and out of our properties to ensure they are fully prepared and have a good understanding of what is required. Whether it be booking key collections or reporting maintenance issues, we’ll guide them along every step of the way.
All of our kitchens are equipped with white goods (including microwaves) and our bedrooms fully furnished. We also provide vacuum cleaners in properties that have 4+ bedrooms. We do not provide kettles, toasters, kitchen bins, crockery etc, so residents will need to bring these with them.
Our friendly in-house maintenance team are on hand to ensure our properties are always well-maintained and comfortable. Tenants can easily report any issues direct to the team using our dedicated Report a repair system and they are kept up to date on the progress/ completion via SMS and email. We also provide 24/7 emergency maintenance cover should anything happen outside of normal office hours.
We take Fire safety seriously at Thornsett. As well as the statutory detection in communal areas such as kitchens, living rooms and hallways, the majority of our bedrooms also contain interlinked smoke detectors for extra peace of mind. In our HMOs, the detectors, emergency lighting and fire blankets are all checked by certified professionals annually. Should you wish to check the fire safety policy for any particular property, you can do so via the link below.
https://www.thornsett.com/tenant-portal/emergencies-and-security/
We always ensure we are fully compliant with safety legislation including annual gas safety checks and the 5 yearly electrical installation condition reports (EICRs). Documents are provided within the tenancy agreement and when a new safety check has been completed, we email the updated certificate direct to the tenants – even if they haven’t yet moved in. Our in-house maintenance team’s manager is gas safe registered, so any concerns relating to gas safety can be investigated and addressed promptly.
All our student HMOs and a large number of apartments are fitted with intruder alarms which we recommend are used whenever a property is vacant. Our properties are also equipped with an extra secure master key suite system which means keys can only be cut / ordered via us for enhanced security. All locks have a thumbturn on the inside for ease of escape in an emergency situation. Should a resident lose their keys and be locked out of their property outside of normal working hours, our emergency maintenance team can attend and provide access (for a small fee).
Whilst we of course cover the buildings insurance, we don’t provide contents insurance and always recommend tenants to arrange their own. There are many options out there, but we recommend Howden Insurance
