The only guide to last minute student lets landlords will ever need.
Published:
The student lets market is turbulent this year, and listing your property as a last minute student let could be a big help.
For tens of thousands of students across the country – boots will be packed and filled to the brim as parents & guardians alike haul their university students to their new city.
However, due to COVID and various examination changes, the student let market has a significant increase in demand, with fewer landlords than in previous years. Thousands of students are still actively looking for accommodation.
Over 350 students have been housed in hotels in Bristol as student developers fail to complete on time. Similarly, the University of York has housed their students in Hull – due to the oversubscription of courses.
The chances are that you are reading this blog because you are looking for an efficient way to market and take full advantage of the demand for student lets- or realise that your property may be better suited to students this year.
Students will be searching up last minute questions such as:
The most common questions from students are:
Where can I find cheap student accommodation in London?
How do UK students find suitable accommodation?
How much, on average, is student accommodation in the UK?
We want to make your life easier – during this hectic time as a private student landlord. So, the following blog will give you some good tips and avenues to advertise so you can target the students posing these questions.
Where to market your last minute student let:
Use highly-rated student accommodation sites such as Accommodation for Students & Student Tenant, and the less student-orientated sites such as Rightmove Student & Zoopla.
Increasingly used are Facebook groups which give a more local and personal approach to student lets. Although this marketing avenue is less automated and requires a bit more legwork, listings are free.
Using the ‘University of ____ housing’ groups effectively advertises your student accommodation to students with a common geographical interest. Listing the neighbourhood and road of your property will help the algorithms advertise your listing to to the best people.
Similarly, other social media platforms may help yield responses.
Don’t be afraid of social media – as it is usually a student last resort for student lets, so there will be a guaranteed stream of students to fill those rooms in your accommodation.
How to make sure your last minute student let is suitable:
A descriptive and relatively long description of your property or rooms-to-rent is key to attracting the appropriate tenants. Keeping it brief on your property description will only result in prospecting tenants merely glazing over your property online.
Make sure to list all of the amenities and perks that come with living on your property.
Investing in professional photos will also add a competitive edge to your listing.
If you would like to make the student leasing process as painless as possible, minimise the possibility of back-and-forth correspondence by being as transparent and descriptive as possible.
Here’s a tick list for landlords who want to let to students:
- Washing machine
- Fridge freezer
- Cooker
- Carpets/curtains/lampshades
- Beds
- Wardrobes
- Desk and chair for each room
- Sofa
- Vacuum cleaner
- Lawnmower
- Bins
Why should I let students?
There are three reasons why letting to students can often be more profitable than traditional lets:
- Demand and competition in student areas is consistent
- Students will usually look to rent for a minimum of 12 months, meaning less stress for you finding new tenants
- Student lets tend to offer exceptionally high yields
Time is of the essence, and we want to make sure you can move your potential tenants from first interaction to the contract signing quickly & efficiently.
The high turn-around of students is why correspondence needs to be efficient—reduce the amount of time spent waiting for students to come into your agency to sign paperwork by digitally signing all contracts.
Leasing is simple when all paperwork is stored online and sent via email. It is more than likely that your prospecting student is looking for accommodation miles away from their home, so making the process accessible from anywhere is key.
Give Signable a go for this step of the student lets process – for free for 14 days.
Is there any legislation to consider?
As you will be letting to sharing occupants (and not a family), you will need to comply with the rules around Houses in Multiple Occupations (HMO’s).
Luckily, we have written extensively on HMO’s and supplied you with a roadmap to the HMO process, making it seamless and easy.
If you would like to read our full piece on HMO and students lets, click on the infographic below.
Teaser, we go over how to:
- Create a streamlined check-in process for students
- Plan and reduce damage to your property
- Arrange inspections
- Maximise profits on student lets