Over the last few weeks, our First-year outreach team has been visiting UC’s first-year halls of residence to present our Flatting 101 Seminar.  

The First-year outreach team is a relatively new role to Lads Without Labels, introduced last year in response to the perceived lack of engagement between first years and the services that Lads provides. Flatting 101 was established last year, but this year, has skyrocketed in student attendance, receiving an overwhelmingly positive response. 

Starting university is an exciting time, but it can also be a bit overwhelming, especially when it comes to living away from home for the first time.  A few months into the year, students are expected to start looking for their second year accommodation; with a large pool of students interested in flatting with their peers. 

There is a noticeable lack of practical information that exists for students to engage with when it comes to the life skills associated with flatting. 

In our series, we break flatting into three areas;

• The Infamous Flat viewing
• How to run a flat 
• How to not Starve 

Combining both experience from Lad’s members on their own unique experiences of flatting, and also some useful digital resources, we were able to give the first years a well-rounded understanding of all the aspects that makes the process of flatting run smoothly. 

A particularly well-received area was our tenancy rights category. Being a student, we often don’t think about the legal side of flatting; the bond requirements, what our landlords can or can't do, and the importance of reading contracts before committing to a flat (!!). It can be easy to suddenly commit to something that you didn’t even know you committed to, or forget some crucial admin step which leaves your landlord chasing you up!  It was awesome to give our first years the tools to feel more empowered and educated when entering what can be an intimidating stage.  

At the end, it was awesome to wrap up by explaining the importance of wellbeing and share a bit about the work we do in Lads.  The student turnouts to the events have exceeded our expectations exponentially. Overall, the event was a major success and started up some awesome conversations amongst students. The success and response that Flatting 101 has had certainly gives us confidence that Lads are creating a tangible and helpful impact for our first years. 

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