Thousands of students already on the lookout for September digs were today warned against renting accommodation from disreputable landlords operating across the UK.

The alert was issued by members of the Residential Landlords Association, who are currently being bombarded with requests for student homes available for the start of the new academic year.

And the group, whose members manage more than £1.2billion worth of property and 30,000 tenancies across the country, urged students to seek out a reputable landlord when securing accommodation.

Members also reminded students to always request a receipt for any deposit required.

Chairman Martin Moylan explained: "For some students, being at university is the first time they have lived away from home or their parents and they often have no experience of how to handle tenancy agreements or deposits and suchlike.

"They get carried away with the excitement of a new lifestyle and meeting new people in a new place and completely forget about the important things like checking a landlord's credentials or simple things like getting a receipt or a written tenancy agreement.

"Yet we believe it is vital that potential tenants check out any prospective landlord and make sure they understand exactly what type of agreement they are getting into to avoid heartache and misunderstanding later."

All RLA landlords operate under a strict code of practice, while most take advantage of the association's new easy to read tenancy agreement, which bears a Crystal Mark from the Plain English Campaign.

The group also operates an advice line for members as well as other benefits including a comprehensive accommodation website, homes2rent.net, which is free for both tenants and landlords to use.

Martin Moylan added: "Each year our members are horrified by stories of some landlords who, although they represent a small minority, can make tenants lives a misery.

"But students and their families can be reassured that any landlord affiliated to the RLA operates the highest standards and has tenants best interest at heart, as our newly drafted, easy to understand tenancy agreement proves."

Landlords who want more information about the RLA can log on to the association website at rla.org.uk or contact 0845 666 5000.

ENDS March 2001