Anyone a student landlord? I have a few questions and would love any tips/advice you have....

[SunnyUpNorth]

We have been looking at BtL as an option for a while. We have done a few viewings and have decided to buy a house to rent to students specifically.

We may use an agent to find and reference students and their guarantors, but will probably manage it ourselves. If anyone is experienced in this and would be willing to share some of what you have learnt along the way I would be grateful.

My specific queries at the moment are:

1. Most student tenancies these days seem to include all bills in the rent. This seems risky to me with potentially 5 people having multiple showers each day, possibly home with the heating/lights/telly on all day etc. How much to bills generally work out as? Is it safer to charge a bit less and let them have their own bills? Also I learnt all about managing bills and budgeting at uni, it seems to be removing an essentially life lesson by doing it all inclusive!!

1. What level of furnishing to provide...is a tv necessary? Or crockery, pans, cutlery etc?

1. Do rental dates usually run from July to June or September to end of August? Or other.

1. When should you start marketing it in order for it to be filled the following September?

1. Does anyone use landlord insurance to cover unpaid rent, damage and so on?

1. Furniture - I know it will probably get trashed and so I'm not planning on buying designer stuff! But surely slightly more durable furniture is a better investment than flimsy, disposable, cheap stuff. Any recommendations on where to go? Ikea is the obvious place but I find their cheap ranges v flimsy and their better quality ranges quite pricey.

1. Health and safety - is it necessary to have fire doors and things or is that just for HMO's? Is it better to let the house as a whole or per room?

Sorry for the very long post. Thanks for reading!

Hi Sunny,
I do not have hundreds of student properties, so take what I say with a pinch of salt!
1 I have just started to include all bills as it makes life so much easier. I charge £50 a month more with bills and this more than covers them (each)

1. I have a very basic level of furniture but do include a TV in communal area and pay the TV licence.

3 rental dates are 10 months September till June 4 market January and Feb 5 I do not have landlord insurance 6 HMO's are needed here for anything over two rental rooms so I do not really understand this question.

IKEA beds are rubbish, get better
I like regular inspections (monthly)
I try to be reasonable

I don't own any student houses but I used to work with student lettings so I have a few tips.

1. Furniture - I found that houses with reasonably new, good quality, matching furniture were left in better condition than houses with mismatched, older furniture. I think that its a combination of students taking better care of stuff they know will cost lots to replace and feeling a bit more pride in something thats obviously nice stuff.

2. IKEA beds are a no-no. We would get complaints every year from students who had bought sheets which wouldn't fit - IKEA beds are longer than standard beds.

3. Student lets are usually Sept-June to follow term dates. You will have to take this into account when setting rent.

4. Find out if you can rent via the university. Some do a scheme where they act as a letting agent with the benefit that the students know that their degrees may be on the line if they cause damage.

Thanks both, very valid points, especially about the ikea beds!

I will look into the uni accommodation scheme. I was planning to see if I can market it through them or if they offered any advice.

The HMO thing - we haven't properly looked into it but have had mixed messages. The vendor of a 5 bed house we saw said he got around it by renting the house as a whole on a joint contract rather than an individual contract per room. I'm not sure if he had that right though. I thought it was just if you had 5 or more people in a house. I know there are some sizes of properties classed as HMO for which it is difficult to obtain a mortgage. I will read up on it.

Thanks again.

Sorry, a question re the bills. I saw one place advertising an all inclusive rent on a 'fair usage' basis. Presumably if people abused it they would be charged the extra. Do you think this is necessary? If so, what would be classed as fair vs abuse?

We let out 1 flat, but have had 2 student DCs, in 2 different university cities, so my experience is somewhat limited.

1. Let the tenants sort their own bills out.
2. If they want a TV, they provide it, AND pay for the licence (or not!). People tend to prefer to supply their own crockery, pots etc.
3. Rentals can run from end June for 9 or 12 months, or from Sept for 9 or 12 months. Consult Gumtree or local letting agents to see what's normal locally.
4. I've only marketed no later than 1 month before the previous lease ran out. Bear in mind the current tenants may want recompense for having potential new tenants traipsing through their house - the current tenants re within their rights to refuse (personal experience!).
5. Yes but haven't had to claim yet. You will also be using a tenancy deposit scheme which should mean being able to retain some of the deposit to cover any loss or damage.
6. HMO rules vary from place to place, so do check with the local council.

Re letting per room or as a whole I don't have an answer. Perhaps you are asking whether to have individual tenancies with several tenants, as opposed to a single tenancy with one person who then represents the other tenant(s)? If you do the former and someone moves out, you will be short of income until you mange to re-let. But if you do the latter, then the other tenants have to keep paying you the full rent regardless. I'm simplifying here. Others with better knowledge will be along shortly...

We used to do student lettings, it was more profitable than family lets, but alot more work and as our properties were at distance we stopped.

HMOs usually apply to more than 2 unrelated tenants, or more than 2 storey properties - no exceptions. Do NOT fall foul of these regulations. If you want to be a recognised supplier to a university there may be other requirements too, but it is worth it to ensure the property is rented and damage minimised.

We always brought Argos beds with the upgraded mattresses, no complaints. And mattress protectors! They brought bedding.

We brought the kitchen electricals (kettle, toaster, microwave), utensils, pans - but they seemed to prefer their own crockery.

I'd provide a communal TV, sky, wifi etc - this more than swanky furniture will appeal. A nice outside area (even a small yard), with room for a BBQ, plastic chairs etc. In my experience spending that little bit more on this sort of stuff, gets a little more weekly rent but more importantly gets it rented quickly each year and does seem to be appreciated.

Thanks both, good advice. We have a bed in our spare room from Argos which wasnt expensive but has been great and is still good as new. I will check them out.

I know letting to students will be more work due to needing to find new tenants each year and a bit more wear and tear etc. But do you find you hear from them much during the year?

I work for a university in the housing office. I would advise you to contact the university/colleges in the area you're thinking of buying as there a local variations in what students expect, and landlords offer.

For example, where I'm based 12 month tenancies are the norm, and bills are generally not included. It may be more straightforward t include them though, as sorting out bills are not strong points of students ime.

Buy the best quality furniture you can afford. If you are kitting out a whole house it may be worth contacting a hotel supplier. The furniture we have used has been very good quality, and reasonably priced.

Students will start looking for accommodation after the christmas break, then there is usually a lull between Easter and the summer break when there will be a second wave.

Bear in mind if you are going to supply any electrical items you will have to maintain or replace them if they stop working. I would just provide white goods myself, and consider a service contract for all appliances. If there is room a tumble dryer will prevent them drying washing all over the house and causing condensation.

HMO regs vary according to local authority, so check with them but the minimum mandatory license is for 5+ bedrooms on 3 or more floors. You also be required to apply for planning permission for change of use if you are changing from a private dwelling into an HMO, again check with LA.

Some groups of students are really switched on and you'll barely hear from them, whereas others are quite needy. You'll need to be prepared for them to call you at 3am when they've lost their keys and their housemates are out.

Thanks 3xm, really helpful. Which hotel supplier do you use for furniture? We will be kitting out two houses from scratch so that is a good shout.

I will def talk to the uni and check out the LA.

Thanks again.

When we rented out our old house we bought the beds and desks from the Oxfam Furniture store and then basic matresses.
Minimal other furniture : they brought their own.
The house was in a student ghetto heartland, so I advertised it with a sheet of A4 paper in the window.
Used agents for the first lot of students, not for the second.
Gas certs were a PITA

They trashed the place by the way.
So I sold it to one of their parents.

We used a company called JPA furniture. They mainly do office furniture, but they also do residential stuff. Best to give them a call. Also look at studentpad.co.uk. Most uni's use this to advertise properties to students in their local area and there would be info for landlords. And one more suggestion - glide are a utilities company who specialise in the student market and i believe they do packages for landlords as well. Some people may find them more expensive, but they do know the market.

Thanks, really helpful. I have been on student pad already, but will check it again.
We already have a BtL and yes gas Certs are a pain which seem to come around too quickly, but this will be our first foray into student land!!