1. Running Ready To Rent
at your institution
Training for Facilitators

2. Plan for the day
pm:
Why Ready To Rent and why it’s useful for unions
How the training works
Part 1: House-hunting
pm:
Understanding the Trainer Guide
Part 2: Contract checking
Using the Ready to Rent Hub
2.30-4pm:
Part 3: Tenant Troubleshooting
Part 4: What next? Collective action
Discussion: Running Ready to Rent at your institution

3. Why Ready to Rent? Homes Fit for Study research showed that:
Under a third of respondents thought that there was enough support for private renters
Less than half felt that they knew their rights as a tenant
Just over half of respondents felt that they knew where to turn if they had a problem with their housing
Less than a third had made use of any house-hunting services provided by their university or students’ union, and only 12 per cent had attended a housing fair or talk

4. Why Ready to Rent?
Aims:
To communicate to students about their rights as renters in an engaging way
To provide support to students’ unions who have less capacity and expertise in housing
To enable more developed students’ unions to enhance their offer to students
To create a culture where student tenants are more discerning, have more confidence and so have more influence
To develop a cohort of pathfinders in the private rented sector, whose expertise will stay with them throughout the rest of their renting careers

5. Ready to Rent: How it works
Two key parts for Ready to Rent at your university:
A two hour training workshop written ready for delivery to students
An online Ready to Rent Hub with further resources and support

6. Ready to Rent: Timeline
Motion passed at National Conference: April 2014
Funding received: Aug 2014
Training facilitators: Nov 2014 – Jan 2015
Hub goes live and resources finalised: Jan 2015
Training delivered: Jan 2015 onwards

7. Ready to Rent: Training design
A two 2 Hour interactive workshop focused on:
Building skills: Focus on skills makes training relevant across a wide range of issues/contexts
Building confidence: Interactive and practical focus develops confidence
Problem prevention: Aims to prevent issues from arising in the first place
Trainers: You don’t need to be an expert!

8. Ready to Rent: Training design
Part 1: House-hunting

9. Ready to Rent: Using Trainer’s Guide
Use the Ready to Rent script and PowerPoint in the way that works for you
Wherever possible draw answers from participants and affirm with slides
We’re developing a Tips for Trainers guide to help you out!

10. Ready to Rent: Training design
Part 2: Signing a contract

11. How the training works: The hub
The Ready to Rent hub will enable trainers to:
Access resources including training guides, tips for trainers, training tools and videos
Create an event
Approve and manage users
Access contact details of participants

12. How the training works: The hub
The Ready to Rent hub will enable participants to:
Find out about and register for an event
Access resources including training tools (e.g. house-hunting checklist, tenancy trouble-shooting guide) and videos
Fill in evaluation survey which will result in them being entered into a prize draw

13. Ready to Rent: Training design
Part 3: Tenancy Troubleshooting

14. Discussion How would you use Ready to Rent on your campus?
How can we make sure as many students as possible benefit from Ready to Rent training?
How can we use Ready to Rent as a springboard for campaigns and collective action?
What else can we offer advice on to make Ready to Rent successful on your
campus?

15. Thank you! Contact us: readytorent@nus.org.uk