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Renting Property To Students

If you are planning on buying a property for letting to students you need to find a property close to a university or college. In the larger towns and cities there are usually areas in which the houses and flats have been converted for renting to students. Outside these areas you may run into problems with neighbors not wanting students living next door to them (students do have a reputation for having noisy parties at weekends).

When renting to students it is common to rent out a house or flat on a per room basis. Doing this will enable you to achieve a higher total rent than you would get by renting it as one unit. However, there are extra rules and regulations that apply to these types of lettings (the rules and regulations vary by country and area).

You should be aware that to save money most students will return to their home town to stay at their parent's home during their summer vacation so the property may lie empty without rent being paid for up to three months of the year.

Finding students to rent to

You need to have your property ready for renting before the students return from their summer break or new students are starting their courses. Students will normally start looking for rooms a month or two before their course starts. If you miss this time, your property could remain empty for most of the year as the students will already have found a room to rent. If you contact the nearest college or university they will usually help with finding students for you - most have a department for this. The easier option is to get a letting agent to look after the property for you - they will take care of finding the tennants.

Furnishings

Since most students will have no furniture of their own, most will want their room to be furnished. You should provide basic furniture such as a bed, bookshelf, cupboard, study table and chair. The kitchen will need a washing machine, cooker, kettle, microwave oven, large fridge/freezer, table, and a number of cupboards for storage. You will also need to supply cooking utensils and crockery. For cleaning the property you should provide a vacuum cleaner. An iron and ironing board will also be required. If there is a shared sitting area it will requires chairs and perhaps a television set. Remember that you will be responsible for the repair or replacement of any item that you supply.

The furnishings do not need to be new, but they do need to be hard wearing so that you don't have to replace them too often.

Electrical and gas items will require a safety check every year. It is false economy to buy a secondhand washing machine as they will have to stand up to a lot of use and repair bill will soon mount up. Most other items such as cookers and fridge/freezers can be bought secondhand if they are available in good condition (they may come with the property when you buy it). Though remember, the students are paying rent and so will expect a reasonable standard of furnishings and fittings.

Decoration

When renting to students you will need to check the condition of the property regularly and plan on having to redecorate more often than if you were renting to professional people. For that reason, do not use expensive wallpapers, curtains, carpets or kitchen and bathroom fittings.

Safety

You should fit smoke detectors in every bedroom and common area of the property (but not the kitchen as a smoke alarm will give false alarms due to the smoke from cooking). You may be required by law, to install a fire alarm system and emergency escape exits. Carbon monoxide detectors should be fitted if there are gas appliances such as central heating or gas cookers in the property. A fire extinguisher in the kitchen is also a good idea.

Gardens

Ideally the house should have no garden to maintain - students are unlikely to keep a garden tidy and weed-free. If it does have a garden, consider replacing any areas of grass or flowers with decking or paving stones otherwise you will need to provide gardening tools and a lawnmower.