Housing FAQs
Home Run Contact Information
Telephone
(01603) 592505
Email:[email protected]
Drop in
Weekdays 9am-5pm (Wednesdays 11am-5pm)
In the Advice Centre on the walkway of Union House, next to the Travel Shop, overlooking the square

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
How do I look for a property?
To find a property in the Home Run database, simply click on the 'find a house' link. You can choose how many rooms you are looking for, the location and rent ranges amongst other things.
I just called them and the property is already let!
If a listed property has been taken, please inform the Home Run office. We will verify with the landlord that the property has been let, and remove the property from the database.
Where do I get my Council Tax Exemption certificate from?
If you no longer have the certificate that was given to you when you started at UEA, you can obtain a copy from Student Records in the Registry building.
How do I contact Home Run?
Home Run is based in the Union Advice Centre Office (in Union House above the pub). If you want to contact Home Run, you can email [email protected] or call 01603 592505
Who do I contact if I am experiencing a problem with a property I found via Homerun?
If you are having problems with a Home Run listed property please telephone the advice centre on 01603 593463, email at [email protected], or pop in to see an advice worker.
Responses to queries from the Annual Survey:
Why is the list released later than letting agent’s lists?
We release the list when we do so that it doesn’t clash with most students’ deadlines, and so that people have had a little bit longer to get to know their potential housemates. It really isn’t necessary to look at houses before Christmas in Norwich, so we try to leave the list release until after that. We are taking feedback on-board though: the list release has been moved forward this year, and will come out in January 2010, rather than February.
Why isn’t the list released later, it causes too much panic!
We really want students to use Home Run because of the excellent quality guarantee it provides- so we need to make sure that the list isn’t coming out after every other letting agent, when students have already found places.
Everyone’s already sorted out accommodation before the list is released!
Some students do sort their accommodation out earlier than the Home Run list- but it’s still really popular! We’d advise waiting for the list to come out.
Why are there properties on the list that are already let?
Home Run relies on its landlords letting us know that properties are let. If the landlord doesn’t tell us, we can’t remove the property from the listing. We do try though!
The best properties are always already taken!
Good properties come and go all year- so keep checking!
Why are there so many properties without pictures?
Our current website only started in 2009, so lots of landlords haven’t gotten round to taking and uploading pictures yet. We’re encouraging all of our landlords to submit pictures from now on- we know it really helps.
Why aren’t there many one and two bedroom properties?
Basically, it’s because of location. Most student accommodation is in NR2, NR4 and NR5 postcodes. Most of the houses in NR2 and NR4 are terraced, Victorian properties- which often have more than two bedrooms. In NR5 area is mainly ex-council houses- again which have more than two bedrooms.
Why aren’t agents stopped from releasing their list before Home Run?
Because we can’t make them! They’re independent businesses, so can release their lists whenever they want.
Why is the website slow on list release day?
Like any website, when it’s busy, things go slow. We are looking at ways to alleviate this though.
Why isn’t every Home Run property vetted by the Union?
Home Run does not have the resources to physically inspect every property on the list. Home Run landlords are ‘self certified’, meaning that they agree to our standards by signing an agreement.
Why isn’t the list just available all year rather than having a specific release date?
The list is available all year round, however there needs to be a set date for each year’s release due to the sheer volume of properties available and the time it takes to get them sorted for the site.
Why isn’t there a section for postgraduates on the message board?
The new message board is in a set format which is standard across all message boards provided by the website provider- we’ll discuss with them the possibility of setting one up!
Why is the list released online?
Releasing the list online makes it easier for students to quickly serve for the properties they want- it’d be daft (and bad for the environment) to give everyone a complete list of properties, if they were only interested in say, 3-beds. It also means that we can take properties off the site as they’re let- meaning students aren’t endlessly chasing houses that have already gone.
Why isn’t there a blacklist of bad landlords available to students?
Because there are potentially really serious legal ramifications if we did. And in a sense, the Home Run list removes some of the need for this (since we’ve worked with most of the landlords on it before, and take complaints extremely seriously).
Why isn’t there a map of all the properties that are available?
The current website does not have this facility built in- but again we’ll definitely have a chat to the firm that build the site, to see if Google Maps-style functionality might be added in the future.
Why is the list released during teaching hours?
We used to release the list to coincide with the Housing Fair- and this takes place in the day. This year we’re thinking of trying something different, and might not run a traditional Housing Fair at all- watch this space!
Why don’t you let students rate the landlords on the Home Run site?
Again, it’s due to potentially dodgy legal ramifications.