Landlords, Prepare for the Rush of Students Looking for Homes

Online student lettings platform StudentTenant.com has addressed the alarming problem faced by landlords and tenants every January – the frantic rush of students looking for homes for the following academic year.

As the majority of housing lists are released after Christmas, landlords and student tenants are forced to rush through the lettings process for the start of the autumn term.

By limiting the flow of housing and releasing it all at the same time, both landlords and students face an incredibly competitive market, warns StudentTenant. In addition, the process is not ideal for current tenants who constantly have students looking for homes coming through their properties.

And the competition at present is at its worst – StudentTenant recently revealed that some students have been forced to camp outside their universities due to a chronic shortage of accommodation. This ultimately feeds a vicious cycle, as first-year students are stuck without much choice for housing, due to the majority being accounted for months before by older students.

The firm believes that the solution to this pattern is to have ongoing properties available to students looking for homes, to minimise the pressure on finding accommodation. However, it is a common practice to begin searching after Christmas, with students under the impression that the best properties are the first to go.

StudentTenant warns that this whole process is disruptive to the main reason that students go to university – to study.

Landlords, it may be a good idea to wait until after the rush to put your student property on the market. As demand for student housing is consistently high, you are extremely unlikely to suffer a void period and will provide housing to those fearful that they’d missed out on a good property with a responsible landlord.

Danielle Cullen, the Managing Director of StudentTenant, comments: “StudentTenant always has a steady flow of housing options, and we ensure that students are aware of the legal implications involved with signing a letting agreement with friends. Regardless of the rationale behind this tradition, students always seem to return to university from the Christmas holidays to start frantically looking for and booking next year’s accommodation.

“We encourage students to be sensible – they should be confident in their group of friends and find a place that is comfortable. However, the best places do go first, and it has become a trend to see the second and third years, who have already developed strong bonds, showing more organisation as they look for housing.”