Image: offerson.co.uk
Date: September 2014
A 2014 report from Accommodation For Students reveals the percentage of properties offering bills-inclusive rates has reached 51%, with an average just shy of 60% per city across the UK. These are the highest figures observed on record, with inclusive rates doubling since 2005.
The findings from the annual Accommodation for Students (AFS) rental report, also suggests that as the number of landlords choosing a bills-inclusive option has increased, the average cost of inclusive rates has dropped significantly from an average of £15.60 in 2005 to just £7.21 in 2014.
While this is great news for tenants, Glide warns that landlords may be at risk of undercharging. “Offering bills-inclusive has been a way for landlords and letting agents to distinguish themselves in a competitive market”, explains Richard Price, Head of Business Development at Glide. “While in the past they were able to add significant mark-up for inclusive rates, this is no longer an option as the market becomes increasingly competitive.”
The provision of inclusive rates is largely consistent across England and Wales, but properties further north of the border in Scotland have bucked the trend. For example, there were no rental properties for Stirling or St. Andrews that offered inclusive rates. However, in the ever-popular student city of Edinburgh, 41% of properties now offer at least one bill inclusive, which again, is a marked increase on previous years.
Elsewhere, AFS found 13 university cities including Newport in South Wales that had 100% provision of rental properties offering at least one bill inclusive. Larger university cities, such as Hull with a student population in excess of 22,000, were also found to have 88% provision of inclusive rates clearly suggesting that the option of inclusive rates is desirable to tenants.
“There is no doubt that offering a bills-inclusive service is as beneficial to landlords as it is to student tenants, but landlords should not leave themselves financially exposed – even when competing for tenants.” Price continues, “The amount of £7.21 is too low to cover utilities. In my experience, £10 per tenant per week represents a fair price ensuring that both parties continue to reap the benefits of the bills inclusive service.”
The results were taken from a survey of 1,170 students in March 2014. 71.9% of students today rate inclusive bills as either an essential or important factor when choosing a property. Bills can cause stress and create arguments in a shared house, while landlords can sometimes be left with unpaid bills. Inclusive bills, at the right rate, are an easy solution to avoid these issues.
Glide makes life easier for landlords by giving them one consistent account manager and delivering one easy monthly bill to cover all utilities and services across their entire portfolio of properties – making it ideal for those looking to cut down on their admin. Glide offers landlords the opportunity to provide a bills-inclusive rent or simply refer tenants to receive individual bills for each person to ensure billing responsibility is shared.
By making energy bills easier, Glide gives landlords more time to do things they love to do.
ENDS