A guide to renting to students

Nicky Lloyd, Head of ESPC Lettings, discusses some key factors to consider when buying a rental property intended to be leased to students.

Student lets usually offer good rental yields and can be a solid financial investment in the long term for buy-to-let investors.

Location is key

Students want to be close to their university, and in Edinburgh there is a lot of choice with the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, Heriot-Watt University, Queen Margaret University as well as various colleges. Your student buy-to-let property should ideally be somewhere within 30 minutes’ walk of campus, with plenty of student-friendly amenities nearby.

Furnish appropriately

Students, like many other tenants, are looking for a well-furnished home with a desk. Investing in extras such as mattress protectors, sofa covers, and laminate flooring will all help to preserve the condition of your student let.

Timing

You will want to have your student property ready to go to coincide with the start of the academic year, so summer is the ideal time to get your property set up and advertised.

Pick the right model

Some landlords opt for the HMO (House of Multiple Occupancy) model for their student lets, where students share a property. An HMO licence is required where three or more unrelated people (normally students) are sharing a property. HMO properties may require remodelling to add extra facilities and the local council will need to grant an HMO licence.

If you choose not to purchase an HMO property for your student buy-to-let, there are plenty of students looking for one or two-bedroom properties where this type of licencing is not required.

Invest in a full management service

With a full management service, your agent will photograph and market your property, handle enquiries and conduct viewings, reference check prospective tenants, draw up a detailed inventory and provide a Private Residential Tenancy Agreement so you can have peace of mind that your property is being dealt with expertly.

ESPC podcast

To find out more about student lets, listen to episode 15 of The ESPC Property Show which goes into depth about student buy-to-lets. It can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

ESPC magazine

This article appeared in the May 2023 issue of the ESPC magazine. Find out more about the ESPC magazine and read the latest issue online.