Would you rent your property out to students?

I would do it if I had a portfolio of properties (I wish).

Risk vs Reward, is it really worth the hassle if it is the only place you rent.

foxhole said:

Letting by the room makes it a house of multiple occupancy with all the associated extra rules and conditions [hard wired smoke alarms etc].

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Yes , more hoops to jump through verses potentially higher income. I have a property I rent out but to a family rather than students. Location can be important when making the choice too, even though we are only around five miles from the nearest campus we still went with single occupancy. I also use a local government private landlords forum and there were many there saying buildings of multiple occupancy ( BMO's) are the way to go in regards to income. BMO's for students will generally be furnished which is another consideration and it was there that helped us make the choice , several years ago we sold a sofa on e-bay and it was brought by some students .... who explained it was to replace the one they had broken playing rugby in the house !

Dave54 said:

Personally I wouldn't even look at students. Too many horror stories of wrecked lets, and hassles with them generally.

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On the other hand, they
- rarely have children
- rarely have pets
- might not do much cooking, so the kitchen can stay surprisingly clean
- less likely to have cars or motorbikes so don't do engine repairs in the lounge
- can be moved out at the end of the academic year as they will usually find it fairly easy to find somewhere else. This is a lot easier than trying to evict a family with children
- often will be able to pay the term's rent up front from parental help or student loan, and not rely on fortnightly benefits payments
- will accept basic and hardwearing furnishings
- spend much of the day at college and have a parental home they can leave 'big stuff' so you can fit a lot of them in a small space. A 1-bed and lounge flat which lets for £450 may be refurnished as 2 x study-bedrooms sharing the kitchen and rent for £300 a room I.e. £600 pcm).

Like any type of property letting, matching the tenants to the property and to your management style is vital.

Two of the guys I work with have buy-to-let properties on the same estate they've been renting out to students (and in one case a visiting lecturer) and haven't had any serious issues. Worst I recall him mentioning recently was a family he rented to who dried their washing indoors on racks but neglected to open windows so got the house mouldy.

I thought about renting my flat out when I moved several years ago, and I had the same fears about non-paying tenants and squatters, but apparently the law has changed a bit so evicting non-paying tenants is now a lot easier and cheaper. I had decided to go with a local agent who did a fixed fee cover everything deal - including paying you if the flat was unoccupied due to lack of tenants and legal fees etc if required.
In the end I sold the flat to one of those buy-it-quick outfits for a cut price and used the money to pay a huge chunk of the mortgage on my new house.