Paying late… or at all!
It’s no secret that rent payment is a concern when Letting properties, especially to student tenants because of it being the first-time they will be dealing with rent and bills, it’s a whole new responsibility for them. There’s always that stigmatism that students are “financially irresponsible” and spend their loan on parties and alcohol. But times are changing. 30% of students say they don’t drink at all, while there has been a drop in student binge-drinking. Let’s not forget, they’ve grown up through financial instability, including a recession and they’re the generation that want to change this.
CPS Homes of Cardiff, said that “Students make for reliable, almost guaranteed tenants each year due to the academic cycle. You know that if the current tenants are planning to leave at the end of their tenancy a new group is just around the corner, ready and waiting to move in at the start of the next academic year. And contrary to the beliefs of many, they are usually very prompt payers of rent because they’re in receipt of a student loan that they receive termly. Having confirmation of this student loan is far stronger than an employment reference because people are far more likely to quit/lose their job than drop out of university. If they ever do get into trouble with their rent payments, a parent or guardian will have usually agreed to act as a financial guarantor at the start of the tenancy. This means a landlord can approach said person and demand full payment of the balance owed.”
Damage to the property
We’ve already mentioned that students are drinking and partying less, which means there is less chance that your property will end up ruined. More students prefer to kick back with their mates, and binge watch series instead. In fact, 82% of students we surveyed recently said they would rather binge watch TV programmes than go out. So hopefully that’s reassurance in knowing your property is less likely to get damaged than in previous years.
Noisy neighbours
“Blaring music, shouting and screaming at the top of their lungs and parties going on until 5am”. A complaint you don’t want to hear from the neighbours who aren’t students and have to be up at the crack of dawn. This generation aren’t the rebellious youth of yesterday, there’s a decline in youth crime, as well as drinking. This generation is steering it to be their best future and don’t want to be derailed by being involved in actions involving the police.
Finding good tenants
Relationships are key for your new student tenants, our What Students Seek survey highlights the fact that building and maintaining a good relationship with their landlord is one of the most important things when looking for their house. If you make sure you’re communicating with your tenants and are easy to reach, you’ll naturally build a good foundation for respect.
Tenancy changeovers
As soon as summer hits, the workload ramps up and it can be an incredibly busy time. We know there’s concern around paying for energy in between tenancy changeovers, which is why we have introduced switch. We manage that void period for you, so not only does your admin reduce, we have the energy covered so you don’t have to worry about paying. Find out more here.
So, this should help dispel any concerns you had around Letting to students. This new generation may just give you peace of mind moving forward that they’re not the ‘typical student’ that people think and in fact make great tenants.