What do students want? That’s the question you’ll usually ask yourself as a student landlord preparing for the next academic year.
It’s really worth knowing what students are looking for when searching for student accommodation; if you want your property to stand out in the rental market and guarantee tenants, you must take a look at these 5 must-haves:
Bigger Beds
A student’s bedroom serves more than just a place to sleep; it’s a secondary hang-out spot, study space and a Netflix binge zone. Double beds are a must-have for any student and are always requested when students are searching for a rental property. Why? Because let’s face it; who would want to be in a cramped single bed rather than a space to spread out?
Fast Internet
Gone are the dreaded days of dial-up internet connections; now everyone needs to be connected to super-fast broadband, and that’s no different for students. It’s becoming more and more important for students studying at university to have access to quick, reliable internet. With plenty of ten and twelve-month student-only internet contracts, and it being such a huge selling point for students when searching for housing, it would be silly to not offer broadband when letting out your property.
Bills Package
It could be worth considering a bills-package for your student tenants so they don’t have to worry about the stresses of dealing with multiple utility companies. With gas, electric, water, phone line, broadband and a TV license to think about, it could be too overwhelming for your tenants. Consider offering a monthly package deal where you offer all of the utilities and expenses in a single monthly bill to your tenants – it’s something which will really make your property stand out if it’s at a fair price.
Parking
Having a driveway or garage isn’t something you can easily add to your property, but if you have it, it’s a huge selling point for students not living within walking distance of the university. Students may have a car, so rather than relying on a bus schedule, they’ll want to drive themselves. So, if you have a property with a drive or garage, it’s a huge positive to promote.
Summer Rent
We can guarantee this is the number one thing students want – if you’re going to write down any notes, it must be this one. Summer rental rates. As you many already know, students want to save wherever possible, which usually means moving back home in the summer to save costs on food and bills. Rather than demanding twelve full months of rent, we suggest offering half rent in the summer holidays – this will sway a group’s decision to rent your property. The benefit of half or no summer rent is that you’ll guarantee income for your property whilst having a period of time for maintenance, and your tenants will be able to save money in the holidays (reducing the problems of unpaid rent).