Mature students having no luck with rentals

nadnerb_2

My gf and I are about to start our 3rd year of Uni, I'm 25 and she's 23 so we're not your typical 18yr old students who are more interested in drinking and trashing the house mummy and daddy are paying for.

It seems whenever I mention we're students everything changes and they say the landlord won't accept students.
I realise students do have a bad reputation but we're clearly not the typical student, we've been together for 5+ years, we've both previously worked full-time and have just decided to go back to uni.

Any ideas on what we can do to convince them we're not going to trash the place or not pay the rent?

One agent suggested paying 6 months up front, which we can manage as we have savings, but is that safe? Also, I don't mind paying a larger deposit if that is likely to persuade a landlord.

I should add that most of my family live in Australia now so a guarantor is not possible. Similarly, my gf is German so her family is all in Germany.

So any tips?

Bufger

Brendan, your best bet would be to go into an estate agents (both of you) and be completely honest with them. There are places that look solely for students but the accomodation isnt usually finished to a high standard for obvious reasons.

If you go in there and talk through the possibilities they are likely to help you. Alot of landlords have good relationships with Agents as they rely on getting regular business so they may 'know just the man/woman'.

Without any guarantor you will need to discuss your options.

Jowo_2

nadnerb wrote: »

One agent suggested paying 6 months up front, which we can manage as we have savings, but is that safe? Also, I don't mind paying a larger deposit if that is likely to persuade a landlord.

There's a thread on this forum by Miss Moneypenny that strongly recommends that tenants verify that landlords have permission to let from their mortgage lenders as this gives tenants greater protection in the event of the property being repossessed by the lender. The Shelter website should also have info on their site for tenants who have found out that their landlord's property is being repossessed to give you an understanding why it is best that tenants avoid properties which the landlord own for their residential use and do not have permission to let it out.

Also, it could disincentivise a landlord or agent to carry out repairs if you've paid up front but having said that, it's pretty difficult for tenants to withold rent to force repairs being done anyhow and there are other remedies available for slow or no repairs being done.

Students, like HB/LHA claimants, belong to a riskier group and though you feel you aren't typical 'students', the reason why some landlords shun these groups are because its impossible at the outset to distinguish between decent tenants that belong in these categories and very expensive for them if they end up with rogue tenants.

Another option for you is try and find a private landlord who is 'student' friendly. Sites like Gumtree or Spareroom could help. They allow 'wanted' ads too, but beware of scammers.