How Landlords can deal with their Student Residents

How landlords can deal with students they are renting to :-

Renting to students comes with some challenges for you as a Landlord.  It is prudent to remember these are young adults coming into the property world for the first time where many of them are learning as they go.

So, when letting to students it is possible you will meet with two types.

Type 1 – they will read the tenancy contract thoroughly making note of anything that could cause them to be in breach.

Type 2 – they won’t bother reading the tenancy agreement thoroughly and sign it anyway with no recollection of what could cause them to be in breach of their contract.

This is very important for you, as a Landlord, to know.  Because this is the first time a lot of students are renting they presume the contract is going to be similar to the one they signed for their ‘on campus’ accommodation, which can be quite lenient.

So how can landlords prevent issues from arising with their tenants?

Not many students even know who their landlord is and don’t have the contact details of their landlord especially if they have gone through an estate agency. If you know your tenants are likely to not to have your details then send an email to welcome them to the property as well as providing your contact details therein.

This is important because your tenants can then ask you important questions about the clauses in the tenancy agreement. For example; if you state no blue tack, tape, command strips etc can be used to put up posters or pictures in their rooms they will be made aware of this by having direct communication with you. Your student residents are going to want to contact you about alternative ways they are allowed to potentially put items up on the walls.  It is a staple for university students to stick posters, exam notes and photos of friends which they have taken throughout the year up on their walls.

By establishing direct contact between you and your students you facilitate a way for them to promptly contact you with their questions or concerns - instead of them possibly going against their ‘point of contact’ with the agency (which many student residents do - hoping their landlord never visits).

Furthermore to ensure the type 2 students know what their responsibilities are – potentially send a short document onto them with a list of the things that could cause them to be in breach of contract. This will make them aware from the outset as well as help you to protect your property from potential damage or complaints from neighbours.

It is a lot of effort for a landlord to do this, however it would be worth the effort. Being a university student myself I was the only one in my group of 6 to thoroughly read through our tenancy agreement.  I then made my housemates aware of what our responsibilities were.   Remember, not all students are like this and therefore informing them of their responsibilities by means of a short list via email will possibly allay any potential breaches, covering your back as well as theirs.

It helps develop a healthy landlord tenant relationship, as it means they are more likely to come to you if they have any queries rather than going along with it because they have little or no contact with their landlord.