Housing Advice Week day three

Housing Advice Week is here


Wednesday's Housing Tip - Contract Checking link HERE

Housing Advice Week is about giving you all the information that you need when looking for a house. As a campaign it's main message is Make the Smart move; don't rush, don't panic. Some letting agents may tell you that houses are going fast and that there are less houses than students… this is not true.

Don't be pushed into signing a housing contract before getting it checked. Housing Advice Week is here to bust the myths and give you free and independent information that ultimately means you make the smart move and avoid the pitfalls: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/hallstohouse.htm

When Is It?

This year Housing Advice Week runs from Monday the 28th November until Friday 2nd December

Why Should I Care?

If you need a house, you should care! Every year the Advice and Representation Centre deals with hundreds of complaints from students who have not understood their contracts or have had to put up with inadequate housing conditions. By coming to ARC on the third floor of the Students Union you can have your contract checked prior to signing and be given all the relevant information and questions that you should be asking agents and/or landlords.

Does Housing Advice Week mean I should start looking at houses?

We advise that you take your time. There is more supply than demand for housing so be aware of people that tell you otherwise or try and make you sign a contract before you have had time to think and get advice. More than anything, Housing Advice Week is to arm you with the tools needed to make the best decision.

Should you decide to start looking just stop and think. Think about who you want to live with (you may have only known your house mates for 2 months!), where you want to live and how much you can afford to pay for a room. This is one of the biggest financial decisions you will make this year.

The Advice and Representation Centre (ARC) is available on the third floor of the Student Union for free advice on choosing the right housing. http://www.cardiffstudents.com/advice

Waste Management Operations during strike

As I am sure you are aware there is a public sector strike planned for tomorrow - Wed 30th Nov.


Please find below information regarding planned Waste Management Operations.

Waste Collections

Household recycling and waste collections will be disrupted. Only the Collections that would have normally occurred on Wednesday 30th November will be affected. Collections on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of next week are unaffected.

Subject to available resources, the Council is taking the following steps to minimise the disruption:

• Green bag collections will not take place on Wednesday 30th. Residents should hold onto their green bags and place them out for collection the following week (7th December).

• Green bin collections will not take place on Wednesday 30th. Green bins should therefore be placed out for collection the following fortnight (14th December).

• The following wards which are scheduled for cleansing will be postponed until Wednesday 7th December - Canton, Llandaff North, Llandaff, Butetown, Grangetown and Riverside. Cleansing crews will prioritise the City Centre and District Centres.

• Black BAG (only in bag areas) waste will be prioritised for collection on Wednesday 30th as scheduled.

• Hygiene Waste will be prioritised for collection on Wednesday 30th as scheduled.

• Food Waste Caddies will be prioritised for collection on Wednesday 30th as scheduled. If this is not possible, additional collections will take place on the weekend.

• Bio Bags will be prioritised for collection on Wednesday 30th. If this is not possible, additional collections will take place on the weekend.

• Black BINS will be collected on Wednesday 30th if resources allow. If this is not possible, additional collections will take place on the weekend.

Please note that your waste is likely to be collected at a slightly different time as a result of the disruption, but it will still be collected within the 6am to 10pm window of collection.

Housing Advice Week day two

Housing Advice Week is here

Tuesday's Housing Tip - Letting Agency Advice and Deposit Protection link HERE

Housing Advice Week is about giving you all the information that you need when looking for a house. As a campaign it's main message is Make the Smart move; don't rush, don't panic. Some letting agents may tell you that houses are going fast and that there are less houses than students… this is not true.

Don't be pushed into signing a housing contract before getting it checked. Housing Advice Week is here to bust the myths and give you free and independent information that ultimately means you make the smart move and avoid the pitfalls: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/hallstohouse.htm

When Is It?

This year Housing Advice Week runs from Monday the 28th November until Friday 2nd December

Why Should I Care?

If you need a house, you should care! Every year the Advice and Representation Centre deals with hundreds of complaints from students who have not understood their contracts or have had to put up with inadequate housing conditions. By coming to ARC on the third floor of the Students Union you can have your contract checked prior to signing and be given all the relevant information and questions that you should be asking agents and/or landlords.

Does Housing Advice Week mean I should start looking at houses?

We advise that you take your time. There is more supply than demand for housing so be aware of people that tell you otherwise or try and make you sign a contract before you have had time to think and get advice. More than anything, Housing Advice Week is to arm you with the tools needed to make the best decision.

Should you decide to start looking just stop and think. Think about who you want to live with (you may have only known your house mates for 2 months!), where you want to live and how much you can afford to pay for a room. This is one of the biggest financial decisions you will make this year.

The Advice and Representation Centre (ARC) is available on the third floor of the Student Union for free advice on choosing the right housing. http://www.cardiffstudents.com/advice

Housing Advice Week is here

Housing Advice Week is about giving you all the information that you need when looking for a house. As a campaign it's main message is Make the Smart move; don't rush, don't panic. Some letting agents may tell you that houses are going fast and that there are less houses than students… this is not true.

Don't be pushed into signing a housing contract before getting it checked. Housing Advice Week is here to bust the myths and give you free and independent information that ultimately means you make the smart move and avoid the pitfalls: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/hallstohouse.htm


When Is It?


This year Housing Advice Week runs from Monday the 28th November until Friday 2nd December

Why Should I Care?

If you need a house, you should care! Every year the Advice and Representation Centre deals with hundreds of complaints from students who have not understood their contracts or have had to put up with inadequate housing conditions. By coming to ARC on the third floor of the Students Union you can have your contract checked prior to signing and be given all the relevant information and questions that you should be asking agents and/or landlords.

Does Housing Advice Week mean I should start looking at houses?

We advise that you take your time. There is more supply than demand for housing so be aware of people that tell you otherwise or try and make you sign a contract before you have had time to think and get advice. More than anything, Housing Advice Week is to arm you with the tools needed to make the best decision.

Should you decide to start looking just stop and think. Think about who you want to live with (you may have only known your house mates for 2 months!), where you want to live and how much you can afford to pay for a room. This is one of the biggest financial decisions you will make this year.

The Advice and Representation Centre (ARC) is available on the third floor of the Student Union for free advice on choosing the right housing. http://www.cardiffstudents.com/advice

Housing Advice Week

Thank you for being so patient http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/ is back online thanks to some very hard work by server technicians (thank you)

Housing Advice Week starts next week (28th)

The main message is: don’t rush, make the smart move and get advice.

All the advice that you need to avoid the pitfalls can be found here:

http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/hallstohouse.htm

Make sure you rent from accredited letting agents (list here) and landlords (find an accredited landlord at Landlord Accreditation Wales here)

Before you sign a contract the Advice and Representation Centre offer a free contract checking service, they can make sure there are no unfair terms and conditions and will run through the contract so that you know exactly what you are signing

http://www.cardiffstudents.com/housing?source=featured

Who pressed the off switch?

My sincere apologies but www.cardiffdigs.co.uk is off line at the moment due to server issues. We will be back with you as soon as we can.

However in the lead up to Housing Advice Week on the 28th we will be at Cardiff Students Union today (24th) from 11am giving out housing advice and how to avoid the pitfalls in the private rented sector.

The main message is: don’t rush, make the smart move and get advice.

http://www.cardiffstudents.com/housing?source=featured
 

Environmental Champions and Police Initiative out in force

We had a huge turn out last night with 25 people in attendance on our community walkabout with lots of agencies represented including the police, waste management, landlords and letting agents, councillors, student sabbatical officers, community members and students volunteering their time. We are very grateful and extremely enthused with the progress of the scheme and the partnership working.

Police and Waste Management jointly led teams around the community and Cardiff Student Union provided a bus so that we could go further afield.

With the bus last night we were able to tackle areas further afield. We door knocked every house on Mackintosh Place, Moy Road, Richard St, Harriet St, Malefant and Dogfield St and parts of Miskin St giving out waste responsibility advice, making sure everyone was aware of the first stage of the enforcement letter and how to ensure they were correctly presenting waste to avoid £100 fines; that it wasn’t a black bag/bin collection day the following day but only recycling and food waste alongside the police safety advice of securing doors and windows.

Waste advice:
http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/waste.htm

Security advice:
http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/lockithideitkeepit.htm

We have the opportunity to follow up this event by helping the police with their community walkabouts prior to the end of term. These will concentrate on the ‘Going Home for Holiday’ advice. And includes all the safety information students and residents need including waste advice.

These will take place on the 6th and 13th of December

Please meet 4.30pm 3rd Floor Students Union.
Wear a festive hat (optional not essential)

If you can help us please come along and thank you once again for all your support thus far

Don’t forget to check out Environmental Champions in the latest issue of Unity News

http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/unity.htm

Unity News issue 7 now online

Issue 7 is now online at http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/unity.htm

UNITY news is your opportunity to find out about how the universities and student unions of Cardiff engage the community.
We have installed a shiny new reader which should make it easier to read; click over the issue to view in full screen and flick through the pages.

We have also launched a new enews subscription service so that you can keep updated on news, issues and campaigns. Sign up to receive enews on the link right off the homepage:

http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/

Also you can now follow us on twitter @cardiffdigs

Environmental Champions

Our Environmental Champions are having a community walkabout tomorrow 22nd November and would appreciate your support.

The Waste Advisory letter that signals the start of enforcement monitoring has gone out so we are keen to ensure that all community residents (student and non) are aware of the letter and what steps they have to put in place to avoid receiving follow up warning letters which can lead onto fixed penalty notices (£100).

We are having a community door knock on Tuesday 22nd November (meet 4.30pm third floor Cardiff Students Union, Park Place – all welcome) to tell people that the following day (Wednesday) is not black bin/bag week and inform them of their ongoing responsibilities to prevent people being fined because they didn’t understand the correct ways to present their recycling and waste.

So please come along as we would like to target as many of the streets where the letters have gone out as possible and have booked a mini-bus to take a group over to the streets further afield including areas of Plasnewydd/Roath and Mackintosh Place.

If you are able to make it make sure you and your neighbours are aware of their waste responsibilities. All the information you need is here: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/waste.htm

To join Environmental Champions just visit the link below for all the details
Environmental Champions

NUS Wales Housing Survey

After the successful NUS Housing Day conference where unions and delegates from across Wales came to Cardiff to learn how to support their students with housing issues (here) NUS Wales have launched a Housing survey

NUS Wales are carrying out a Housing survey to hear about your experiences with your accommodation during the 2010-11 academic year.

The survey is the first of its kind to look at the experiences of students in their accommodation across Wales. The NUS will use the results to work out what needs improving and what examples there are of best practice. So please complete the survey by following the links below.

Housing survey English link - http://bit.ly/NUSWhs

Housing survey Welsh link - http://bit.ly/htUCMC

Raechel Mattey, NUS Wales Deputy President said "The Housing day is an important part of the NUS Wales calendar. It brings officers from all over the country together to understand the issues and share what they are currently doing to tackle them. The survey is crucial to understanding the housing issues in each University not only in the private rented sector but also in University halls of residences."

Bute Park opening hours

As part of a 3-month trial two of the gates in Bute Park will see their opening hours extended until 7pm every evening until the end of December to enable commuters to continue using the main cycle and walking route (from North Road to Sophia Gardens) during the winter months.

The gates with extended opening hours are those at the Millennium Bridge, which links Sophia Gardens to Bute Park and Fisher Bridge, which links North Road and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama to the park. All other access gates will follow the normal closing times.

The progress of the experiment will be closely monitored by Council Officers who will keep track of the numbers of users and any issues which may arise.

We are looking for feedback from all users of Bute Park to find out what they think of the extended opening of the park, so please fill in the survey
English: http://surveys.cardiff.gov.uk/buteparktrial/en/

Welsh: http://surveys.cardiff.gov.uk/buteparktrial/cy/

History in the making

The Cardiff Story Museum team was joined by students, cardiffdigs, environmental champions and volunteers for a student consultation yesterday.

The museum is developing a new gallery to celebrate Cardiff’s History and held a focus group to get views and ideas about Cardiff’s Communities, Leisure, Culture and Sport.

The group came up with some noteworthy ideas. During the session opinions were raised about how students interact with the city, how they spend their spare time, what communities they feel a part of, what the impacts of sport on the city are and what their initial reactions have been to moving into Cardiff among other discussions.

Lucie Connors who led the group discussion said it was a very ‘interesting and lively event with some unique ideas coming through’ that left her busy scribbling key points. Some very interesting ideas around the impact of gaming and technology on leisure time for students was talked about along with how transitory Cardiff was for some people and students, what Cardiff offers for students who choose not to drink alcohol, how easy or difficult it was to find a sense of community and how the museum could develop to attract visitors with some ideas about photography being brought to the table.

Discover the history of Cardiff through the eyes of the people.
The Museum is open and free to visit: http://www.cardiffstory.com/

Advice stand

Cardiffdigs will be joined by Waste Management and South Wales Police for their monthly advice stand at Cardiff Students Union today (8th November) from 12-2pm in the unions’ main reception.


Come say hello and pick up a free canvas re-use bag along with advice about going home for the holidays, avoiding the pitfalls if you are thinking about moving from halls to a house next year, waste and recycling information and safety advice.

For all your safety advice see here

For your waste and recycling information visit here

and for all advice relating to moving from halls to house - make the smart move see here

Get It Out For Cardiff 2010 wins LARAC partnership award

The Get it out for Cardiff team is celebrating after Cardiff Council’s City Services won a prestigious award at the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) 2011 Award Celebrations last month. The team scooped the Best Partnership gong for their 2010 campaign and is a fantastic boost as the 2011 campaign has just drawn to a close after another great year.

The Best Partnership award is for the local authority which has worked successfully with one or more partners that are within the private or third sectors or with others such as resident groups.

The partnership involved Cardiff Council, Cycle Training Wales, British Heart Foundation (BHF), Salvation Army, Fair Share and Cardiff Student Union alongside http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/getitout.htm

The aim was to maximise student reuse of a variety of household items and minimise the environmental impact students create when they leave the city.

Bikes, electricals, clothes/bags, food and pots/pans can be donated to charity and in some cases sold back to the student community. Most end-of-year waste headed for landfill; now students have the choice to dispose of their waste in an ethical and sustainable manner.

Executive Member for Environment, Cllr Margaret Jones said, “I am delighted we have won this award, it is brilliant recognition for a model of partnership working that delivers great sustainable benefits to the city, year in, year out. I congratulate all involved for this great achievement.”

Student Liaison Officer, Kieran McCann said, “As the city’s student liaison officer I was very proud to be able to help set up the partnership, which brought together so many different agencies to benefit charities and divert materials away from landfill. It’s great winning awards but we’re not going to stand still, this year’s campaign has just finished and was very successful and we’re already looking ahead to next year’s activities."

Chris Davies, Cardiff Students Union’s Welfare and Communication Officer said, “We are very proud to be part of such a fantastic partnership program. Waste generated by students is a highly contentious subject so it is amazing to share the success of the Get It Out for Cardiff scheme whilst addressing this issue simultaneously. By working together, both myself and the Unions Financial and Commercial Officer, Nicholas Matthew are both keen to see the Get It Out For Cardiff scheme continue and develop further“.

http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/getitout.htm

History in the making, be a part of something unique

The Cardiff Story Museum is developing a new gallery to celebrate Cardiff’s History. We need your views and ideas about Cardiff’s Communities, Leisure, Culture and Sport.

Please join us (refreshments provided) Wednesday 9th November 3pm-4.30pm Room 5.18 Humanities Building, Cardiff University (Just off Colum Road, near Library)

We need as many people as possible to attend but places are limited so please can you e-mail Lucie Connors (lucie.connors@cardiff.gov.uk) with your confirmation or turn up on the day with your student I.D.

NUS Housing Day conference 2011

Yesterday http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/ and Landlord Accreditation Wales http://www.welshlandlords.org.uk/
were on hand to help with the second Wales wide Housing Day conference by the NUS. Unions and delegates from across Wales came to Cardiff to learn how to support their students with housing issues.

Delegates learnt about the typical pitfalls students encounter with private sector properties and were provided with information on how to advise and support their students. Presentations were given by Anne Rowland from Landlord Accreditation Wales promoting best practice, additional licensing and the importance of community relations.

Anne Rowland presenting on housing legislation

Postal Scam

With the festive season fast approaching and the number of packages and parcels being delivered significantly increasing, Cardiff Trading Standards is warning residents to be vigilant of a new postal scam which could leave them £315 worse off.

The mail scam, which has already been identified and confirmed by Royal Mail, involves a company called PDS or Parcel Delivery Service. Cardiff residents may find that in the coming weeks a card could be posted through their doors from this company stating that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that the householder needs to contact them on a premium rate 0906 number.

Residents are warned not to call this number as the company is not genuine and calling it - even for a moment - could result in you being charged £315, which will be added to your next phone bill.

If you do receive a card with these details, please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 020 7239 6655.

For further information on scams, including reporting suspicious issues and advice on how to protect yourself, please visit www.direct.gov.uk or contact Consumer Direct on 0808 156 6736.

Want to have your say and make History?

The Cardiff Story Museum is developing a new gallery to celebrate Cardiff’s History. We need student views and ideas about Cardiff’s Communities, Leisure, Culture and Sport.

Please join us (refreshments provided) Wednesday 9th November 3pm-4.30pm Room 5.18 Humanities Building, Cardiff University (Just off Colum Road, near Library)

We need as many people as possible to attend but places are limited so please can you let us know by e-mailing Lucie Connors (lucie.connors@cardiff.gov.uk) with your confirmation.

The Cardiff Story opened its doors earlier this year to become the first museum dedicated to telling the tale of the city. It is free to visit and can be found in The Old Library, The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1BH

Website here: http://www.cardiffstory.com/content.asp