Pros and Cons of Renting to Students

The Tenancy Deposit Service recently carried out a survey of landlords over their attitudes towards renting to students. The results show that 60% believed students generally looked after their properties, but that 88% had raised a deposit deduction at the end of a tenancy.

The most common reasons for deductions were:

● Damage to the property - 48%

● Further cleaning was required - 38%

● Redecoration needed - 9%

● Rent arrears - 7%

With this in mind, are you willing to rent to students? If you are still undecided on whether to do so, here are the the pros and cons:

Pros of Renting to Students

Student rentals often return a higher rental than when renting to families. You generally charge per person and there tend to be more occupants in a student let than other types of rental property. If there are two reception rooms, you could turn one into sleeping accommodation and increase your yield even further.

Another advantage for landlords who don’t want big commitments is that students will usually only require a short rental. Once they finish the academic year or their course, they are likely to move on, freeing up your property if you like. If you decide you want to keep renting it out, there are usually many prospective tenants ready to take it on next. This is particularly true if your property is near the campus or in a recognised student area.

Some landlords like renting to students because they are less demanding about the features of the property. As it is many students’ first experience of independent living, rooms like the kitchen can usually be more basic than a family might require. They are often not interested in gardens as well, which makes it easier to rent places with no outside space to students than it is to professionals.

Cons of Renting to Students

Some landlords do not like renting to students because they require fully furnished properties. It is very unlikely that a student will have anything more than the bare essentials, having just moved from their family home. As a student landlord, you will need to supply beds, desks, kitchen appliances, sofas and more. Without these, your property will be less attractive than the competition on the market.

Without making sweeping generalisations, students tend to live a more raucous life than most professionals or families. If your property is right in the middle of a student area, this might not be too much of an issue. However, if there are families in the vicinity, late night parties might be deemed as anti-social behaviour and could cause issues between you or your tenants and the neighbours.

In addition, students tend to be less experienced at maintaining a property, so there may be more work to do following the lease to bring it up to standard for the next tenants.

Property Management

Whether you are renting to students or professionals, property management is a major, time-consuming task. This is why we provide a service that takes the admin, rent account work, maintenance and renewals out of your hands. It frees up your time and ensures your tenants enjoy a professional and efficient service at all times. Call us on 0208 5757630 to find out more.