Letting to students can be a financially lucrative business. According to UCAS, 303,750 university applications were made before Christmas 2013 – just 1% drop from 2012 despite the increased tuition fees in that year.

If you’re a homeowner, landlord or prospective investor in student property, our helpful guide will provide you with top tips and advice for letting to students.

Choose the area carefully
Students rarely drive and so are more likely to want to live within walking distance of their campus and their friends.

Do your research and find out which areas are popular with students. You need to know about the provision and reliability of local transport links, if the university campus is likely to move elsewhere, and what the area is like at night.

If an area feels busy and there are plenty of shops, pubs and takeaways, it is likely to appeal to students. Many prefer living in a busy area rather than a quiet residential one. As students also usually prefer to live in groups a house with four or five bedrooms would be a preferable choice and can yield more rent.

Prepare the property
Students’ expectations are much higher than they used to be. Don’t be fooled in to thinking you can rent them a run-down, unkempt property. While you will want to make sure it is financially viable for you to do up a property, it doesn’t cost much to tidy up and put up some new blinds and light shades.

It is worth remembering that parents are also likely to view the property and may end up paying the rent. For example, Oxford University students often have substantial budgets and will yield much higher returns for landlords compared with letting to a family.

Good quality furniture and fittings are a worthwhile investment as they will need to withstand wear and tear. If you have a tight budget then good quality second-hand furniture is better than flimsy flat-packed furniture.

For student rental properties, every bedroom needs to have a desk and chair. If you have to choose between a bath and shower, feedback we receive suggests a shower is best. Make sure it is well-fitted and has anti-mould sealant to handle plenty of use.

Provide an information manual
Compile information that tenants may need such as details about recycling and bin collection days, as well as water mains and emergency contact numbers. This can really help save time, hassle and encourage tenants to look after the property.

Marketing
Be sure to use professional floor plans, photographs, and to dress the rooms to show them in the best possible light. There are so many properties to choose from that making sure you highlight a property’s best-selling features is essential.

Social media marketing via your lettings agent’s network is an essential part of the marketing process, which is a realm in which good quality images once again play an important role. Your agent will use social media to reach your target audience, and make sure your property listing can be easily shared.

The legal stuff
Students are well aware that they are vulnerable to getting ripped off, and so they and their parents and guarantors are looking for a professional and credited letting agent to handle the creation of the tenancy agreement. This means an agent being registered with ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents) or UKALA.

Letting to three or more students will require having an HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) licence. Rules about HMO regulations are quite complicated – we are however experts in liaising with councils on HMO matters and can even make the initial application on your behalf (click here to contact one of our HMO specialists).

Be sure your agent gets guarantors for tenants and takes their phone numbers and other contact details as a back-up. A sweet-faced fresher may turn in to a party animal halfway through the first term, so it’s best to get your agent to take their parents’ information as a precaution. After all, it will be you who faces fines from the council for noise complaints.

Avoid an empty property during summer
You may want to consider renting the property on a twelve month, two or three year contract. That way the property will not be empty for long periods of time during the summer months as the tenants will be obligated to maintain occupation throughout.

However, if you plan to get new tenants then if you rent out the property on a ten month lease there is a two month window for you to do any necessary redecorating and repairs over the summer.

Go to our student lettings page to learn how we can find the right student for you through our unbeatable service to landlords, or get in touch with your local branch.

Correct at time of publication. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual contributor and do not necessarily reflect those of the Chancellors Group of Estate Agents Ltd or its subsidiaries. References to legislation, best practice and other matters with legal implications such as fees, rules and processes are included for information and editorial purposes only and are not authoritative, nor should they be interpreted as advice. When in doubt you should only take advice from an industry professional or solicitor where appropriate. E&OE.