Becoming a student landlord can be a very attractive proposition, especially if you own a property in a university city with a high student population.
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran in the student lettings market, or just starting out, you must check out our guide to becoming a student landlord. Inside this guide, you’ll find out the most important aspects of letting to students and what you must do before they move into your student property.
Tenancy Agreement
As a student landlord, you must make sure you’re choosing the right agreement for you.
Will you be offering your student tenants a single or joint tenancy? How long will the student tenancy agreement last – 10 or 12 months? Will your tenants be jointly liable for unpaid rent?
They’re the sort of questions you must ask yourself before choosing the legal contract between you and your student tenants – it will set out all the legal terms and conditions of the tenancy.
Your tenancy agreement should also include details of how damages to the property will be dealt with, and whose responsibility it is to cover the costs of fixing them. By doing this, it should reduce the chance of any problems at the end of the tenancy, and if you require to use your student tenants’ deposit to cover the cost of damages, you should be able to gain access to it quickly.
Don’t forget: There’s plenty of liabilities and responsibilities for you and your student tenants depending on which agreement you choose – so make sure you do your research!
Deposits
As mentioned, deposits are extremely important in the event of resolving damage to your student property.
As of 6th April 2007, it’s now a legal requirement for all UK landlords to lodge tenants’ deposits in a government protected scheme. Once you have received the deposit from your student tenants, you have thirty days to put them into an authorised scheme – and you must have proof to give your student tenants if they ask for it.
Don’t forget: Make sure that your tenants are aware than any cleaning or damage to the property must be fixed before they move out, or deductions will be taken from their deposit.
Electric and gas safety
It’s the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that the property adheres to electrical and gas safety regulations:
• The electrical installation in a rented property must be in a safe condition when the tenants move in, and throughout the tenancy.
• Any appliances supplied by the landlord must at least have a CE (European Conformity) marking; a manufacturer’s claim that it meets all the requirements of European law.
• An annual gas safety check should be carried out on each gas appliance by a certified gas engineer, and the landlord must keep a record of inspection dates.
• The landlord must provide a record of the annual gas safety check to tenants within 28 days of completion, or to the student tenants on move in day.
Inventories
Prior to your tenants moving into the property, we recommend conducting a thorough check-in inventory report. Whilst it’s not a legal obligation, it’s able to prove the condition of the property before your tenants moving in, and will protect you if things get damaged. We recommend taking plenty of photos of the property, logging what inside the property and the condition of it.
Not sure how to conduct an inventory? Check out our ultimate property inventory guide.
Move in day
And finally, before you student tenants move into your rental property, you should:
Conduct final meter readings.
Supply your students with the gas safety certificate (and subsequent maintenance log).
Information on how to use the safety equipment supplied.
And finally – keep your tenants happy
A student landlords work does not stop when the tenants move in. Unless you’re using our property management which will take care of your student property, organise and fix problems, and conduct property inspections, you’ll find yourself sorting all the problems yourself. Make sure you respect your tenants and their problems, and deal with them swiftly.
StudentTenant.com Tip! Student’s usually receive their loans every three months – so tie in rent payments around loan payments dates to decrease the chances of tenants sliding into rental arrears.
If you’re a student renting for the first time, we recommend taking a look at our guide to renting.