Student buy-to-let investments with the best rental yields in the UK

Online property management platform Howsy has looked at rental yields nearby the top 50 universities across the UK to determine which areas provide the best buy-to-let opportunities for landlords.

This research looked at the average house prices and average rent prices per month in the outcodes of the top 50 universities to calculate rental yields.

On average, university rental yields sit at 4.4% across the UK, according to the results.

The top three best results can all be found in Scotland. The University of Dundee (DD1) came first, with an average rental yield of 7.2%. Second and third were the University of Aberdeen (AB24) and the University of Strathclyde (G1), with rental yields of 6.8% and 6.62% respectively.

The bottom three are all located in London. Imperial College London (SW7) is last, providing a 1.7% average rental yield. King’s College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science, both in WC2, came joint second to last, at 2.3%.

Founder and CEO of Howsy, Calum Brannan, commented: “Many students will be searching for accommodation now that they know where they stand with their results and this huge influx of demand is very positive news for buy-to-let landlords in uni towns across the UK.

“Of course, student tenants can have their downfalls, but so can any tenant in the rental space and the pros far outweigh the cons in terms of the carousel of consistent demand and income that they supply.

“With many of the top universities not only attracting the best students but also providing rental yields way above the UK average, a university buy-to-let could be the key to a profitable investment in what are otherwise tough times for landlords at present.”

University	Location	Top 50 Rank	Outcode	Average house price	Average Rent pm	Average Rental Yield (%)
University of Dundee	Dundee	31	DD1	£146,000	£876	7.2%
University of Aberdeen	Aberdeen	26	AB24	£101,035	£576	6.8%
University of Strathclyde	Glasgow	36	G1	£160,147	£883	6.62%
University of Leicester	Leicester	38	LE1	£121,517	£664	6.56%
Aston University, Birmingham	Birmingham	43	B4	£145,640	£793	6.5%
University of Leeds	Leeds	16	LS2	£138,775	£741	6.41%
Nottingham Trent University	Nottingham	46	NG1	£160,099	£852	6.39%
Newcastle University	Newcastle upon Tyne	23	NE1	£154,535	£816	6.3%
University of Liverpool	Liverpool	33	L3	£143,576	£730	6.1%
Cardiff University	Cardiff	30	CF10	£172,917	£843	5.9%
University of Southampton	Southampton	18	SO17	£222,839	£1,007	5.4%
Queen’s University Belfast	Belfast	27	BT7	£187,801	£825	5.3%
University of Nottingham	Nottingham	21	NG7	£166,848	£718	5.2%
University of Manchester	Manchester	17	M13	£212,944	£915	5.2%
University of Edinburgh	Edinburgh	15	EH8	£235,924	£994	5.1%
University of Warwick	Coventry	11	CV4	£257,287	£1,068	5.0%
Lancaster University	Lancaster	8	LA1	£160,721	£632	4.7%
University of Glasgow	Glasgow	19	G12	£287,762	£1,059	4.4%
University of Surrey	Guildford, Surrey	34	GU2	£452,347	£1,664	4.4%
University of Kent	Canterbury	47	CT2	£316,166	£1,163	4.4%
University of East Anglia UEA	Norwich	25	NR4	£314,704	£1,142	4.4%
University of Essex	Colchester	41	CO4	£280,313	£987	4.2%
University of Birmingham	Birmingham	13	B15	£242,675	£834	4.1%
University of Sheffield	Sheffield	28	S10	£253,392	£865	4.1%
University of St Andrews	St Andrews, Fife	3	KY16	£369,814	£1,248	4.0%
Heriot-Watt University	Edinburgh	29	EH14	£271,789	£891	3.9%
University of Stirling	Stirling	45	FK9	£276,179	£895	3.9%
University of Sussex	Brighton	40	BN1	£405,533	£1,305	3.9%
University of Cambridge	Cambridge	1	CB2	£483,588	£1,541	3.8%
Swansea University	Swansea	32	SA2	£231,500	£730	3.8%
University of Lincoln	Lincoln	50	LN6	£224,959	£689	3.7%
University of York	York	22	YO10	£280,366	£855	3.7%
Durham University	Durham	7	DH1	£224,494	£683	3.7%
Queen Mary University of London	Tower Hamlets (London Borough)	35	E1	£603,459	£1,829	3.6%
Arts University Bournemouth	Bournemouth	48	BH12	£292,209	£876	3.6%
University of Bath	Bath	9	BA2	£402,848	£1,188	3.5%
University of Oxford	Oxford	2	OX1	£486,921	£1,425	3.5%
University of Exeter	Exeter	12	EX4	£277,640	£800	3.5%
Royal Holloway, University of London	Egham	24	TW20	£469,326	£1,341	3.4%
Harper Adams University	Newport, Shropshire	42	TF10	£280,200	£787	3.4%
University of Reading	Reading	39	RG6	£387,577	£1,085	3.4%
Loughborough University	Loughborough	6	LE11	£231,276	£639	3.3%
Oxford Brookes University	Oxford	49	OX3	£443,918	£1,226	3.3%
University for the Creative Arts	Farnham	44	GU9	£463,014	£1,269	3.3%
University of Bristol	Bristol	14	BS8	£460,385	£1,136	3.0%
University College London	Camden (London Borough)	10	WC1	£900,673	£2,056	2.7%
SOAS University of London	Camden (London Borough)	37	WC1	£900,673	£2,056	2.7%
London School of Economics and Political Science	City of Westminster (London Borough)	4	WC2	£1,445,306	£2,782	2.3%
King’s College London, University of London	City of Westminster (London Borough)	20	WC2	£1,445,306	£2,782	2.3%
Imperial College London	City of Westminster (London Borough)	5	SW7	£2,002,729	£2,886	1.7%