Renting non student accomodation as student

Jesnon

It depends really on how the student rents in your area work out. I've rented two private student houses and one 'standard' private flat. Assuming you only want to be there a year for example, some cities like Nottingham offer you discounted rates for the holiday periods where you wouldn't be living there, or shorter lets based on the terms e.g. 'Sept - July'. Non-student accommodation wouldn't really offer this as standard as they could easily make more money renting to a non-student. Unfortunately I rented in Durham where this wasn't standard practise and paid for a year full rent anyway, so of course it depends on the area!

Another less positive thing about non-student accommodation (that perhaps could just be my experience and not a general rule) is that I didn't pay any agency fees / anything for credit checks etc on my student accommodations. All I paid was the deposit - no rent upfront or anything like that or credit check fees etc. In fact I had absolutely no idea this was standard practise and when it came to renting my current flat I was shocked how much I had to pay just to sign some papers and get moved in!

Some student letting agents though take students for a bit of a ride, realising they can rent poor quality accommodation with minimum effort from themselves and get away with things they wouldn't in normal scenarios because students are generally less experienced and less pushy. One particular letting agent I rented with was notorious for attempting to screw people over when it came to their deposits for example, claiming for professional cleaning costs that were unnecessary and never took place.

Good luck whatever you decide!

alta

WokandtheBooby wrote: »

Hi,

I'll be moving from halls in june and finding a house to move into and was wondering if I can move into a regular rented apartment/flat/house and how recommended this is?

I've worked out that if I move in with even 1 friend to a non student house, furnished or otherwise, the rent pcm would be considerably lower (30-40%) than if I rented a student house/flat. My current student house only has water included in the flat pcm rent price of £340, the utilities (energy, comms) are on top of that. Being a student I would be exempt from council tax for the duration of my course also, saving money.

Does anyone have any pointers or maybe some buckshot to shoot me down if this is a daft idea?

Regards!

You may find that non student properties are hard to come by. Very few LL's will let to students, because of the state SOME students leave the place, also the disturbance many cause.
If you do find a furnished non student property, you will find that most LL's will require a guarantor for both of you. They will have to pass references. This can be your parents ect.
Regarding Council tax, students are exempt from council tax. But if 1 tenant is not a student, then the FULL council tax is due not a partial amount.

Most non student properties rent on a 6/12 mth tenancy, 6mths is not long enough for a student year, but 12mth is too long, very few non student LL's will let for 9/10mths.
Depending on where you are the rent pcm may be less than halls, but remember you will still have to pay your utilities, including your internet, which is often in your halls rent.

Your best bet is to go into some letting agents and ask if they have any LL'S that accept students in their properties. ask the professionals who know.

Velvet_Glove

agrinnall wrote: »

It's not a bad idea per se, but you do have to bear in mind that many (perhaps the majority) of landlords will be reluctant to rent to students, so although it may look like there are a lot of properties available, in reality the supply will be lower.

This. My boyfriend and I rented a non-student let during my 3rd year, and although we found one in the end, a lot of agents were reluctant to work with us, because neither of us were professionals. The words, "well, it's quite nice with John Lewis bedding, so you would have to be careful" actually passed the lips of one agent!

skivenov

alta wrote: »

You may find that non student properties are hard to come by. Very few LL's will let to students, because of the state SOME students leave the place, also the disturbance many cause.
If you do find a furnished non student property, you will find that most LL's will require a guarantor for both of you. They will have to pass references. This can be your parents ect.
Regarding Council tax, students are exempt from council tax. But if 1 tenant is not a student, then the FULL council tax is due not a partial amount.

Most non student properties rent on a 6/12 mth tenancy, 6mths is not long enough for a student year, but 12mth is too long, very few non student LL's will let for 9/10mths.
Depending on where you are the rent pcm may be less than halls, but remember you will still have to pay your utilities, including your internet, which is often in your halls rent.

Your best bet is to go into some letting agents and ask if they have any LL'S that accept students in their properties. ask the professionals who know.

Pretty much agree with all of the above, we used to have student lets and The worst tenants to give the rest a bad name, but in letting to students, you are taking a calculated risk. Though I'd argue with that and say I'd let to students before a lot of other people, students might make a mess sometimes, but they can't normally be arsed to nick the copper pipes :rotfl:

In some areas, if there's more than two of you, they may not be able to let to you due to house of multiple occupancy regulations.

kiss_me_now9

It depends where your uni is as well - there simply *aren't* any one bedroom flats for a student in my uni town.

dimbo61

Many problems with your idea have already been covered!
Some BTL lenders will not allow landlords to rent properties to students
Some Home insurances companies will not provide insurance for rental properties where students live
Some landlords will never rent to students.
Do you have all the stuff you need to furnish a flat? Beds, fridge/freezer, washing machine, ETC
You need to pass the letting agent checks, credit score,
If you do get a flat it can take 6/8 weeks to get broadband/phone installed !!! BT infinity is an 18months contract !!!
Mum and Dad may have to act as guarantor

paddedjohn

tim123456789 wrote: »

In Dundee perhaps.

I can't see that working in York, Bath, Durham, anywhere else *nice*

tim

I bet I could find a 1 bed flat anywhere for less than Uni halls, wether that be in Bath, York or Liverpool its just down to shopping around. The major problem with the prices is because students often feel he need to stay together so only look for places that are advertised as student lets and get ripped off in the process. If they looked in the local papers and were prepared to trave an extra mile or two then they could get better/cheaper accommodation.

tim123456789

paddedjohn wrote: »

I bet I could find a 1 bed flat anywhere for less than Uni halls, wether that be in Bath, York or Liverpool its just down to shopping around. .

Really!

One bed flats come with a lounge and kitchen that a room in halls don't have (even if they have own bathroom) As such they are twice the size of any uni accomodation available.

This extra size is almost always going to cost more than the "uni" premium.

tim

V_Chic_Chick

In addition to what has been mentioned above, there is the issue of HMO licencing.

If there are 5 or more of you, or if there are three or more storeys, then it is compulsory for there to be an HMO licence. If you find a landlord without an HMO licence willing to take you on for such a house, then they are dodgy as, and should be avoided (if they'll flout that law, what else are they flouting? Gas safety? Tenancy deposit?)

I believe some councils require HMO licences where there are three or more tenants.

WokandtheBooby

Hi thanks for the replies! I wasn't expecting this to have been pursued so many times as most of my friends and going with student accom.

It would be myself and my best friend moving in, both of us are on respected courses and have no intention of having parties and the like as we want to get a private rented accom in order to avoid that and to actually have a home and not just somewhere to sleep. I would like to continue the rent through the summer months were others may go home in order to keep a job and work for as long as possible whilst I have the free time.

As such it'd be a two bedroom and the average rent I've seen for a two bedroom is around 400-600 in my area (Ports, Hampshire) which is still far cheaper than any traditional student accom available (most dont include utilities so that's still to be factored in).

I do have access to furnishings however most of those available that I have seen on zoopla and other renting sites they already have beds, washing machines, fridges etc despite being listed as unfurnished so depending on which I chose this might not be a problem.

With the credit issue, Ill have a credit check prior to pursuing this but having a pristine credit card repayment record should probably help with this?

Thanks again