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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Has anyone bought a uni house for their student child?

67 replies

EeesandWhizz · 27/09/2023 10:51

Back in the 90's a few of my friends parents bought a house for them while they were at university. Friends moved in and essentially paid the mortgage, bills were split and the houses sold again after 3 years (making a tidy profit).

Is this still a thing? Is it still possible for friends to share a house in a lodger type of agreement? Do you know of anyone that has done it or have you/are you?

OP posts:
flotsomandjetsome · 27/09/2023 13:18

I don't know anyone that actually did it, but a couple of people who in hindsight wished they had - children in Bristol about 15 years ago and Glasgow about 6 years ago.

I think neither of them realised that the cheap properties which (with no local knowledge) they thought of as highly undesirable were exactly where all the students lived from yr 2.

If you can afford it - and that's a huge if - it seems like a good idea, but I imagine a ton of research and good legal advice is a must.

Digimoor · 27/09/2023 13:21

I know people who did this - kids were doing 5 year courses so it made sense
However they did proper rental contracts for all the rooms

Azaeleasinbloom · 27/09/2023 13:24

I have friends who did it - Glasgow- but their dc was in for a long degree ( Medicine I think). Worked fine, although I think the other tenants changed over time. Just bear in mind the 2nd property LBTT if you are already a home owner, and think about the Council Tax ( tenants all students or non students become liable I think )

LondonPapa · 27/09/2023 13:32

While not quite the same thing as we're not buying. We've got an apartment in London Z2, great connections and from the front door to Central London is no longer than 20 minutes. We were going to sell but decided to rent out until DD is old enough and then she can have it as her base for uni or post-uni London working life.

This kills so many birds with one stone. We get an income, our mortgage paid off (hopefully) and DD gets a place to live post-first year halls.

One of my friends wants to do the same but they splurged on a place they couldn't afford and have been caught out by the high interest rates so it looks like they won't be doing this which is a shame as if it can be done, even well before it is needed, it is a great thing to do for peace of mind and security.

Iwantacampervan · 27/09/2023 13:52

I know one family that did it about 30 years ago - it worked for their son as he had somewhere to live but then he was in the awkward position of being landlord to the rest of the housemates.

floofbag · 27/09/2023 13:53

I think it worked years ago whej houses were cheap or would work in a cheap area. My dd is in a city and flats are expensive . Also I want her to share so buying a house would be too expensive

CeciCC · 27/09/2023 14:07

Hi. We did it but not in the UK. MY oldest decided to study a degree in Barcelona (dual nationality). We bought a flat with the intention of selling it once she graduated. Had friends sharing with her, rent charged covered the mortgage. We decided to keep the flat and now is rented to students.
My youngest is at a London uni... I don't think we'll be doing it.. prices just too high. We might look into it thought

skyeisthelimit · 27/09/2023 14:19

I know somebody who did this. You must do proper rental agreements for each room though that lay out everything clearly.

Beaverbridge · 27/09/2023 14:26

My friend did it in Stirling.. Bought a 4 bedroom flat. Her son moved in with 3 others who paid rent. Proper arrangements made and signed up. She sold it for a tidy profit to another parent who was planning on doing same thing. Maybe about 8 years ago don't know how'd it work with house prices now.

Moominmammacat · 27/09/2023 14:38

I did it for all three of my DSs. Worked well, rent paid off the mortgages, eventually. We still have them. I did it because I didn't want the boys exploited by landlords and I hope we give our tenants the same decent experience our DSs had.

gogomoto · 27/09/2023 14:53

I know people who have but they are very wealthy, no mortgages required

caringcarer · 27/09/2023 15:02

One of my friends did it for both her DD's. One in Manchester (3 bedroom) bought with a mortgage and sold after 4 years. One house bought in Bristol (4 bedrooms) and sold after 3 years. Both sold for more than bought for but when solicitors fees were taken out to the Manchester one didn't make a huge lot of profit but the Bristol one did. The girls asked friends to share with them and they split running cost and mortgage cost which was cheaper than rent was in both areas so students who shared gained a lower rent too. They agreed to rent for the whole year but the students had got part time jobs so wanted to stay all year and just went home for a couple of weeks in the summer.

Almahart · 27/09/2023 15:02

My friend's parents did this when I was at university and it worked really well, but that is a looong time ago, when property was much cheaper.

mathanxiety · 27/09/2023 15:07

I know a good few people who did this in the 80s in Dublin. They had proper leases for all the rooms. The houses were the goose that laid the golden egg for all of them. Their value increased exponentially.

mumda · 27/09/2023 15:15

Would HMO rules apply?

Indiacalling · 27/09/2023 15:22

My parents did this.
It was awful even though I can see it made financial sense for them.
I encouraged my DD to go into halls in her first year so she could meet people and build a social network. Then she was able to select her own housemates and they found a rental. She has a very clear contract and there have been no problems so far. There’s no way on God’s earth I would recommend buying your child a flat to go to university in a strange town where they know no-one.

PinkFrogss · 27/09/2023 15:22

Rules on renting have changed a lot since then.

You would have to think of the tax implications etc too.

And if your DV would even want you to do it, it would create a weird power balance within the house imho.

Getabloominmoveon · 27/09/2023 15:31

We did it - outside the UK - and our son lived there for 5 years with the same 2 other boys. It worked out really well. There wasn’t a ‘power imbalance’ because we were the landlords, not him.
Eventually they all moved on, we renovated the place and had a single tenant for 3 years. When she moved out our daughter moved in.
It was a great decision, and is now worth triple what we paid.

NigellaAwesome · 27/09/2023 15:36

We have sort of done it. We bought a duplex near a university almost 25 years ago and rent to young professionals. We have a HMO licence and I work as a property manager.

DD has just moved into halls for her first year at the nearby uni, and we are considering renting to her and 3 other friends from next year. I would much rather have her pay rent to us and know we are ethical landlords than some of the awful places there are that rented to students. We plan to have a formal joint tenancy for the group, with guarantors and deposit.

I have a couple of reservations - we don't generally rent to students and I would be concerned about lack of maturity, parties, lack of fire safety awareness, lack of cleaning. I also think it could potentially create an odd dynamic, both with DD and us, and DD and flatmates. DD is content to live in a shithole of a bedroom at home, and has ruined the carpet in her bedroom at home with eyelash glue. I worry a bit about that type of thing. I'm contemplating using a letting agent to manage it on our behalf, although it does seem like a needless expense.

Once she moves on we will continue to rent it out, so no CGT issues in the immediate future.

Spaghettihulahoops · 27/09/2023 15:42

This is an interesting idea especially as lots of student landlords seem to be selling making it harder to find a decent place. You could get round the second home taxes by putting it in dc’s name.
I remember parents doing it when I was at Nottingham though they tended to be the medic parents. They were generally wealthy themselves and their dc were going to be students for 4 years after their first year in halls. Also lots ended up with jobs at the local hospital after graduation.
@Indiacalling I think the general idea is the student goes into hall for their first year, meets a group to live with but then they live in a house owned by one of the parents instead of renting from a slumlord. The state of some students houses was awful, mould everywhere, lots of things broken and never repaired etc. No one is suggesting buying a one bedroom flat and expecting their dc to live in it from day one.

Myotherusernameisshy · 27/09/2023 15:45

I lived with a friend whose parents owned our flat. It was a 3 bed flat so there was another tenant as well.
We all lived met in halls in first year then they bought the flat before we started y2. We already knew we got on well before we moved in together. If there were any issues with the flat they were fixed really quickly because it affected their daughter too.
All bills were shared three ways then the (cheap) mortgage payment was split in two and covered by me and the other renter. It was cheaper for us then private landlords locally and the flat was great - they even decorated our rooms for us to our taste before we moved in.
They sold the flat for a good profit once we graduated.
I don't think we will be able to afford it for our dc but I would definitely consider it.

Geneticsbunny · 27/09/2023 15:48

Might be worth noting that there are often local planning regulations in place to maintain a balance between long term residents and students which would theoretically make this impossible in certain areas. For example any house in the heavily student area of the city I live in can not be used as an HMO (more then two unrelated people living in the same house) unless it is already currently an HMO. I.e. no new HMOs. So anyone buying a regular family house and using it as an HMO would be in breach of planning permission as it is a different land usage than normal residential housing.

PinkRoses1245 · 27/09/2023 15:49

Nowadays I wouldn't expect to make a profit, especially after letting it to students, it's unlikely to improve the house! I'd seek some legal advice if you want to put a property in your child's name, or in yours. And do all the tenancy agreements etc properly.

PinkRoses1245 · 27/09/2023 15:49

Geneticsbunny · 27/09/2023 15:48

Might be worth noting that there are often local planning regulations in place to maintain a balance between long term residents and students which would theoretically make this impossible in certain areas. For example any house in the heavily student area of the city I live in can not be used as an HMO (more then two unrelated people living in the same house) unless it is already currently an HMO. I.e. no new HMOs. So anyone buying a regular family house and using it as an HMO would be in breach of planning permission as it is a different land usage than normal residential housing.

Very good point, you'd want to either buy an existing HMO or check you can change a property to be a HMO.

Cookerhood · 27/09/2023 15:50

Yes, but back in the 1980s. I don't remember any formal contract, but that would be foolish now.