在英国租房部分同学对租赁协议所涉及的专业很疑惑。下面的租房术语是同学在找房子和阅读合同时可能会遇到的一些专业名词。

术语1：Council Tax议会税

这是地方议会为帮助支付其提供的服务而定的一种税。该税由家庭支付。全日制学生（定义为每周学习21个小时以上，一年学习24周以上，并且课程至少持续一个学年或一个日历年）免收理事会税。您可能在完成一门课程并等待开始另一门课程后的一段时间内被收取理事会税，但是在课程进行过程中的学期或学期之间的任何休假期间都不应向您收取费用。如果物业中有学生和非学生，则该物业将继续承担理事会税。非学生将对账单负责，并且该地址的学生将需要从大学获得理事会免税证书。

根据英国国际学生事务理事会（UKCISA）的说法：如果您的配偶，民事伴侣或受抚养人不是英国公民，并且被允许进入英国（允许“进入”或“留下”），并且没有“求助于护照上或英国身份证（“生物特征居留证”或“外国人身份证”）上注明的公共资金条件或禁止就业的规定。这几乎涵盖了来自欧洲经济区（EEA）或瑞士之外的所有来英国加入国际学生的配偶，民事伙伴和家属。

 This is a tax which is set by local councils to help pay for the services that they provide. The tax is payable by the household. Full-time students (defined as studying more than 21 hours a week and more than 24 weeks a year, with the course lasting at least one academic year or calendar year) are exempt from Council Tax. You may be charged Council Tax for a period after you have finished one course and are waiting to start another, but you should not be charged during any vacation periods that fall between terms or semesters whilst your course is ongoing.

If there is a mix of students and non-students in a property, the property will remain liable for Council Tax. The non-students will be liable for the bill and the students at that address will need to obtain Council Tax exemption certificates from the University.

According to the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA):

The dwelling should still be exempt if your spouse, civil partner or dependant is not a British citizen, and has been given permission to be in the UK (given ‘leave to enter’ or ‘leave to remain’) with a ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition or a prohibition on employment endorsed in their passport, or on their UK identity card ('Biometric Residence Permit' or 'Identity Card for Foreign Nationals'). This covers almost all spouses, civil partners and dependants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland who come to join an international student in the UK.

 

术语2：Electric Safety Certificate电气安全证书

房东必须确保电气系统和物业附带的所有电气设备安全。HMO必须由注册电工每五年进行一次定期检查。即使该物业不是HMO，大多数房东也会获得电力安全证书。

 A landlord must ensure the electric system and all electric appliances provided with the property are safe. HMOs (see definition below) are required to have periodic inspections carried out every five years by a registered electrician. Most landlords will have electric safety certificates even if the property is not a HMO.

术语3：EPC

业主或卖方在建造，出售或出租财产时必须提供的能源绩效证书（EPC）。EPC包含有关物业能源绩效的信息以及有关如何减少能源使用的建议。

 An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) which a landlord or seller is required to provide when a property is built, sold, or rented out. An EPC contains information about the energy performance of a property and recommendations about how to reduce energy use.

 

术语4：Estate Agent / Letting Agent地产代理/出租代理

房地产经纪人可以帮助房东为其财产寻找租客。房东可以选择让代理人管理他们的财产，也可以只是做广告。有些代理商会向您收取服务费用。如果他们这样做，请在付款或签署任何东西之前，确保您确切知道他们要收取的费用以及这些费用的所得。确保仅根据保证的租期收取管理费-不仅仅是为了能够“申请”。管理员费用通常不可退还。

 An agent helps a landlord find tenants for their property. A landlord may choose to have an agent manage their property or just take care of advertising. Some agents will charge you admin fees for their services. If they do, make sure you know what exactly they are charging and what you are getting for those fees before paying or signing anything. Ensure you’re only subject to admin fees on the basis of a guaranteed tenancy - not just for being able to “apply”. Admin fees are generally non-refundable.

 

术语5：Fair Usage Policy公平使用政策

如果您的房租包含您的部分/全部公用事业账单-或如果您有单独的账单选项-那么您的合同可能会针对这些公用事业制定公平使用政策。这将说明所包含的每个实用程序的数量，以及超过该限制会发生的情况。

If your rent inclues some/all of your utility bills - or if you have a separate bills included option - then your contract will likely have a Fair Usage Policy in regards to those utilities. This will state the amount of each utility that is included and what happens if you go over that limit.

 

术语6：Gas Safety Certificate气体安全证书

要求房东在您入住之前（或检查之后的28天内）要求注册气体工程师进行年度气体安全检查，并向您提供记录副本。

A landlord is required to have a registered gas engineer do an annual gas safety check and provide you with a copy of the record before you move in (or within 28 days of the check).

 

术语7：Guarantor担保人

如果您无法付款或不付款，担保人同意对您的租金负责。许多房东在租借学生财产之前，需要英国的担保人（通常是父母）。如果您没有英国的担保人（许多国际学生会如此），可能会要求您支付更多或全部租金。也有公司充当担保人。

A guarantor agrees to be liable for your rent if you cannot or do not pay. Many landlords will require a UK-based guarantor (normally this will be a parent) before letting a student property. If you do not have a UK-based guarantor (as will be the case for many international students), you may be asked to pay more or all of your rent upfront. There are also companies that act as guarantors.

术语8：HMO

HMO是一栋多人居住的房屋，一般来说，是指一栋以上的家庭（或“家庭单元”）一起居住的建筑物。如果您居住在HMO中，则您的房东负有额外的责任，并且该财产可能需要拥有HMO许可证。如果该物业为三层或以上，并且被五人或以上（组成两个或两个以上家庭）居住，则必须获得当地住房管理局的许可。

An HMO is a House of Multiple Occupation, which in general terms, means a building where more than one household (or 'family unit') is living together. If you live in an HMO, your landlord has extra responsibilities and the property may be required to have an HMO license. If the property is three stories or more and is occupied by five or more people (who form two or more households), it must be licensed by the local housing authority. You can find out more about the additional responsibilities for an HMO here.

 

术语9：Individual Contract (Sole Tenancy)个人合约(唯一租赁)

如果您签订的是个人合同（许多研究生将签订合同），则意味着您应对自己的部分租金负责，并且对同居租户的租金欠款不承担任何责任。您将共同负责公共区域（例如客厅，厨房等）的状况。根据个人合同，房东有更多进入房屋的权利，恕不另行通知。这仅适用于公共区域。进入卧室必须提前24小时发出书面通知。

If you are on an individual contract (which many postgraduates will be), this means you are responsible for your own portion of the rent and you will not be liable for a fellow tenant's rent arrears. You will be jointly responsible for the condition of the communal areas (eg. living room, kitchen, etc.). Under an individual contract, the landlord has more rights to enter the house without giving notice. This applies only to the communal areas; 24 hours written notice must be given to enter the bedrooms.

 

术语10：Joint Contract - Joint & Several Liability共同合同-连带责任

这是本科生租房中最常见的协议类型。您和您的室友正在共同出租整个房子，而不仅仅是一间卧室。学生对房屋租金负有连带责任。如果一个（或多个）租户未能付款，则房东可以（在大多数情况下）向其他租户索要租金欠款。这意味着，如果和你合租的同学中的一个在租期开始时或在租期中途离开，其余租户将承担额外的租金。

This is the most common type of agreement for undergraduate student lettings. You and your housemates are jointly renting the whole house, not just a bedroom. Students are jointly and severally liable for the payment of the rent for the house. If one (or more) tenants fail to pay, the landlord can (and in most cases will) ask the other tenants for the rent arrears. This means that if one of your group leaves at the beginning, or part way through the tenancy, the remaining tenants will be liable for the extra rent.

 

术语11：Landlord / Tenant 房东/房客

房东是指拥有财产并允许其他人付费使用的人。住在物业中的人称为房客。一居民房东住在自己租出去的财产。

Landlord refers to a person who owns property and allows another person to use it for a fee. The person living in the property is called the tenant. A Resident Landlord lives in the property that they rent out.

 

术语12：Right to Rent Checks出租权支票的权利

从2016年2月1日起，房主，房东和代理商必须依法确保准房客在向该人出租房间/财产之前有权在英格兰出租。这意味着您的房东或租赁代理人将要求查看某些文件的原件，例如护照，英国出生证，学生签证等，以证明您有权在英国租房。

As of 1 February 2016, homeowners, landlords, and Agents are required by law to ensure that a prospective tenant has the right to rent in England before letting a room/property to that person. This means that your landlord or the Letting Agent will ask to see originals of certain documents, such as a passport, UK birth certificate, student visa, etc. to prove that you have the right to be in England and to rent.

 

术语13：Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme租赁押金保护计划

大多数房东会要求您支付押金。根据法律，您的房东必须在收到款项后30天内保护您的存款并将其放入政府支持的租赁存款计划（其中包括：存款保护服务，MyDeposits和租赁存款计划）。这些方案可以保护资金，并在房客与房东之间发生任何纠纷时提供独立的裁决。

Most landlords will require you to pay a deposit. By law, your landlord must protect and place your deposit in a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme (these include: Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits, and Tenancy Deposit Scheme) within 30 days of receipt. These schemes safeguard the money and offer independent adjudication in the event of any dispute between tenant and landlord.

 

希望以上13个英国租房时会看到的租房术语会让同学对在英国租房有着更进一步的认识。

资料参考：

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-a-home/student-housing/students-in-private-rented-accommodation/student-housing-living-in-a-house-in-multiple-occupation-hmo/

https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview

https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/discounts-for-full-time-students

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-a-home/student-housing/students-in-private-rented-accommodation/student-housing-using-a-guarantor/

http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Fees--finance/Council-Tax/Student-exemption/

http://www.nus.org.uk/en/advice/housing-advice/housing-glossary/

https://www.gov.uk/private-renting/document-checks