Tomorrow is the day that many students will move into their new homes. Student tenancies generally end on June 30 and begin again on July 1, however, there is a one-day layover period in which many students are left without somewhere to stay.
This often causes chaos in Headingley, Hyde Park, Burley and Kirkstall, all student areas of Leeds. Residents and councils have warned students about not leaving rubbish and avoiding loud parties which could lead to complaints.
LeedsLive went to these areas to speak with residents about the 'chaos' today and what they are expecting tomorrow.
One resident, who lives near Newport View opposite Headingley Stadium said: "It is chaos yeah, the whole two days there are parents with cars and vans and it's stressful trying to get around.
"The thing is, I understand that they have to move so I think landlords should try and come up with a better system than having everyone trying to move all at once, especially when they leave things by the side of the road, it looks a mess."
Students could be seen all morning putting bags of clothes, furniture and household items into vans and cars. One resident said the bridge towards Headingley's main strip was gridlocked with drivers beeping constantly at each other.
They said: "It took around 40 minutes to get into Headingley centre today, I was only going to the pharmacy but because of all the cars it took forever.
"They think they can just park where they want, it's ridiculous, the council or someone needs to put rules in place because it's residents who have to deal with it."
Earlier this week, Leeds City Council issued advice to students gearing up to move. The Council has been working with local universities and charities to try and alleviate some of the issues that often occur, including waste pile-up and anti-social behaviour.
Councillor Debra Coupar, Leeds City Council’s executive member for resources with responsibility for Safer Leeds, said: “Universities and students in Leeds make a massive contribution to our culture and economy but we do recognise that in areas with a higher population of students, some anti-social behaviour issues can arise.
"This was initially why we worked with the universities to launch the dedicated service team and so far it has proved to be extremely successful in de-escalating issues in communities and reducing call-out times. I would like to echo the message to students to be mindful of their neighbours and follow guidance on disposing of waste in the proper way.”
The Council has announced further measures to ensure the move-out period is as smooth as possible and reduce disruption to residents. In February, LCC worked in partnership with the unis to launch a dedicated service to tackle anti-social behaviour.
The service is fully funded by the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett and includes nightly patrols, seven days a week. The move was to ensure residents that any issues would be dealt with quickly and efficiently.
First Buses issued a tweet on June 30 warning residents that bus services would be impacted due to the mass exodus of students.
Leeds-based estate agent, HOP, issued a statement ahead of the moving day. Josh Buckley, lettings branch manager at HOP’s Leeds city-centre office, said:
“Student changeover is always a hectic time when tens of thousands of students move in and out of homes, in a two-day period. Plus, this is one of the busiest years for a long time, with the vast majority of the city’s student housing stock let, as the student population surges again following the pandemic.
“It’s likely that the areas around Kirkstall, Burley Park, Headingley, Woodhouse and Hyde Park will come to a total standstill with so many students on the move, and as estate agents, professional cleaners and landlords rush to inspect, clean and carry out essential maintenance work on thousands of properties.
“At HOP we ask for keys to be returned by 11am on Thursday, June 30 and we then inspect hundreds of homes before the end of the day, which is no mean feat when the traffic is a lot worse than usual. If the keys are returned late, it makes the situation even more difficult and pushes everything back.
“We then have a team of more than 80 cleaners working all through the night to make sure the homes are ready to move into. Every property is then inspected again, before we hand over the keys to the new tenants, so they can move into their new homes on Friday 1 st July.
“Having full 12-month tenancies creates a crazy situation for everyone involved including the cleaners, estate agents, people who live in the local areas and particularly the tenants. They often have to find alternative accommodation, between tenancies, on the June 30 and then might have to move into a property that has a list of maintenance requirements that will be done over the coming weeks.
"However, 12-month tenancies are entrenched in Leeds and to change this, and perhaps move to 50-week tenancies, which would offer more flexibility, would require the support of every estate agent and landlord in the city.”
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