When renting a property many landlords wonder if it would be better to rent for a shorter period or for the whole year when renting to students. As a private landlord it may be difficult to compete with big universities that offer student accommodation to students directly on campus. But there are many options and add-on that could be offered in private accommodation that would make all the difference when finding tenants.
The student housing market is constantly evolving and it is about knowing what the students need being able to offer it to them so they book your property. In this way, it is useful to study the competition and what is being offered in the rental market in your area to try to match your competition’s offerings or to provide a better deal so you get more bookings.
Dylan Kelly explains how this market is rapidly changing on the article “A fresh new look for freshers” at InStyleDirect.com: “Dealing with some of the student accommodation sector’s largest private providers we have noticed how the sector is rapidly changing from technology perspective…”
For students it is simpler, really. They want a place to live during the time they will be studying. Some of them would spend the summer in the property (there are summer courses too) but many of them would not need student housing over summer, as we all know that most students return home during this season. Most of them have a limited income and cannot usually afford to lose money on rent and to be able to save on those three months may be vital when making a decision to rent in one place or another. What many students do when the lease is for the whole year is that they sublease the apartment/room to another person during those months.
What is more advantageous for property managers and landlords of student housing?
Some landlords and property managers may succeed in offering a twelve month lease, especially if it is standard practice within their rental market. However, it would be advantageous for some colleges and universities that have a highly competitive rental market, to offer a more flexible lease term. An important reason for that is the existence of a market of summer students that come from other cities and countries to study during the summer a course at a local university or summer school. Many landlords and property managers forget about this target group that may be willing to pay more for a rent that for them is part holiday/part studies.
If you are managing a property, there are many places that you can register with that will send you seasonal visitors such as tourists, students or sports teams who are in need of summer housing. They usually require a fee for providing you with these contacts but it is worth your while to get in touch with them as you will have your properties rented all summer.
If you are an owner who prefers to offer only twelve month leases because you don’t have the time to look for new tenants (and that happens to many landlords) maybe you should consider allowing for the flexibility of tenants to sublease, as this would make students feel more secure in the fact that if they cannot afford to pay those months they can always sublease the room or apartment to someone else.
It’s important to assess the rental market in general when choosing a leasing agreement but when it comes to student housing, maybe even more as it is a rather unique market that is always evolving.
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