Students have sat huddled in overcoats in their bedsits because radiators and fires do not work.

Others have been ripped off by unscrupulous landlords who refuse to hand back deposits.

Bad landlords are not the norm in Sussex but there have been enough complaints for police to take action.

Brighton and Hove police have teamed up with Brighton University to distribute a Safe House checklist through the student union web site.

More than 3,000 copies of the checklists will be distributed by the university during housing days when new students meet and look for shared accommodation.

Paul Knight, police crime reduction officer, said:

"Students will be looking for houses in the next few weeks.

"The checklist is a way of really making the students think about the property, their potential housemates and landlords before they sign the contract and hand over large deposits."

Police gave a list of students' complaints about landlords who:

Refuse to hand back deposits, claiming they need to clean carpets and walls, jobs that do not need doing
Fail to make repairs to leaky roofs or heaters, leaving students cold and damp in the winter months
Insist on extra deposits which are not in the contracts
Violate students' privacy.