London student accommodation - eek!

[LittleRedRidingSnood]

Any current London uni parents worrying about September accommodation? And the cost!

The terms of tenancy agreements are very much stacked in the landlord's favour - the contract for the first place my son went for had about 60 pages and included very detailed terms about everything, e.g. the frequency of opening windows and wiping down walls to prevent mould - it was clear that they would have been blamed/charged for any speck of mould that appeared during their tenancy. There was no way they would have kept up with the regime. Thankfully that one fell through and they found somewhere else.

As much as we all want our student-aged children to be independent and learn from their own mistakes, I think it's worth hand-holding them through the process of renting their first student flat-share to make sure they aren't exploited - otherwise their own mistakes could be very expensive.

@BrassCeiling If landlords don’t have some rights, they won’t rent to students at all. Be careful what you wish for! 60 pages seems excessive but the rent is the rent. How many people are there to pay it isn’t down to the landlord.

The Op lives in Scotland so stories of dc commuting won’t help. The main thing is to realise the world and his wife want to rent in Camden for UCL and anywhere within a reasonable commute for Imperial. The areas around Imperial are expensive! As is Camden. Together, students and young grads, put a lot of pressure on the rental market. It’s a case of going further out and being flexible. Most areas of London are safe for students if they are reasonably savvy.

Also, make sure your dc knows their friends. Anyone pulling out is a disaster so make sure the flat sharers are all committed to renting and have the money! At least in London there’s time for first years to do this. Unlike elsewhere.

Something else to watch out for - initial contracts tend to be fixed term for 1 year. As explained here, it may be worth thinking about the following year too: https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/options_when_your_fixed_term_tenancy_ends.

In my son's case, two of the five friends will be going abroad for year 3 of their degrees. So, as it's a joint contract, if the remaining tenants want to stay will have to find new flatmates and renew the contract - probably at higher rent, and for another full year. In contrast, if all the original flatmates wanted to stick around for year 3, the landlord might have let them go onto a rolling contract (the advantage being that the rent wouldn't rise and they could give notice to move out straight after their final exams).

Different strokes for different folks - but worth thinking about in advance if choosing between different groups of friends to share with.