Renting for Child

sportsmaster50

My son is going to work at Heathrow and do a part time degree in central London (1-2 days) over the next few years.
As he is from the North and does not know London well, we are looking to hopefully rent for him for the 6-12 months before we look to see if we can afford to buy him something for the rest of the duration of his 4-5 year degree.
Have looked on Rightmove:
1) Most importantly - Can you haggle on price?
2) Can you haggle to see if bills will be included if they are not?
3) Many say Long term let, can we haggle on duration to see if perhaps we can get 6 months, with a rolling one month post that?  It says ask agency for tenancy duration
Anything else worth thinking about the reduce the price and overall cost as much as possible?

Any comments/thoughts/suggestions gratefully appreciated.

Flugelhorn

Like many things it is a case of supply and demand - if there a few places available then the landlord doesn't have to give a discount on the rent -
also bills won't be included in a normal rental, like council tax you have to pay that yourself (though being a student may make a difference) 
Has your son looked at student-only rentals, all bills are covered there.

sportsmaster50

Flugelhorn said:

Like many things it is a case of supply and demand - if there a few places available then the landlord doesn't have to give a discount on the rent -
also bills won't be included in a normal rental, like council tax you have to pay that yourself (though being a student may make a difference) 
Has your son looked at student-only rentals, all bills are covered there.

Thanks Flugelhorn.
About 50% of the rentals I have been looking at quote bills included (but NOT Council Tax).  He is NOT a full time student, so cannot sadly gain any of those benefits - It is a degree apprenticeship.

elsien

Sibling and niece took went down to stay for a couple of days to look at places. He said it was well worth doing but some  that looked ok on paper were “over my dead body” land. And they went very quickly. 

macman

If he is 18 or over  then he is not a child. The TA will need to be signed by him and he will be legally liable for it. You can't rent it yourself and then have him solely occupy it, if that is your intention.
Everything is negotiable, but there is huge demand for rental properties in London at present, it's very much an LL's market.
If it's a self-contained unit, then bills will hardly ever be included. He will be liable for all the utilities: gas, electricity, water, telcoms, and C Tax. As a part time student he will not get a CT disregard. If it's more like a flatshare (it's not clear from your post what you want) then they are more likely to be inclusive. Offering inclusive energy bills at present though would be ruinous for an LL.
If he has never rented before, and no credit history or references, then he'll probably need you as a guarantor. 
The minimum term for an STA is 6 months, so you're going to be offered either that or 12m as a minimum. Obviously, no LL wants to lose the tenant after only 6m. and have to remarket and refurb it.

PM22

My daughter is on a work placement with GSK for a year as part of her degree.
She is renting a room in a shared house
Pro's - bills included, that includes gas and electricity 
Cons - there's a terrible smell coming from the bedroom next to hers and the tenant is a known woman beater apparently
He steals her cutlery and things 

user1977

macman said:

If he is 18 or over then he is not a child

Yes he is. He is the OP's immediate descendant. He is the OP's child, even if he is also an adult.

Brie

Does he know anyone yet at Heathrow?  I imagine that like any large site/organisation there may be something simple like a bulletin board (maybe now all online) with people looking for house shares / flat mates.  Maybe his new supervisor can direct him a bit??

saajan_12

sportsmaster50 said:

My son is going to work at Heathrow and do a part time degree in central London (1-2 days) over the next few years.
As he is from the North and does not know London well, we are looking to hopefully rent for him for the 6-12 months before we look to see if we can afford to buy him something for the rest of the duration of his 4-5 year degree.- Definitely sensible to rent first to be sure son likes the area and degree etc before getting into the costs of buying. However even then, please do return here for advice if / when you think about buying. Having an owned property could tie him down to one area in London - what if he meets someone, or wants to be more central / rural? If its in your name, then you'd need to consider restricted BTL mortgages and taxes (higher SDLT and CGT). If its in his name, then he'd use his FTB status there, which might not be worth it if its not super long term. 
Have looked on Rightmove:
1) Most importantly - Can you haggle on price? - technically yes but your success depends on how popular the property and local market is. I've had rents haggled both downward and upwards from the advertised price!
2) Can you haggle to see if bills will be included if they are not? - Bills are a chunky extra (think couple of £hundred) so typically larger than the amount they'd be willing to negotiate by. Plus in the current climate of soaring energy prices, LLs may be more wary of tenants clocking up energy usage whereas if the user is paying, they might be more economical. So the rent difference by including bills might be more than just paying yourself for bills and less to the LL. 
3) Many say Long term let, can we haggle on duration to see if perhaps we can get 6 months, with a rolling one month post that?  It says ask agency for tenancy duration- certainly ask about the fixed term and any break clauses. Most LLs will prefer longer tenancies (less voids etc) but they might be willing to offer a break clause. 
Anything else worth thinking about the reduce the price and overall cost as much as possible?- suggestions below. 

Any comments/thoughts/suggestions gratefully appreciated.

Some comments in line, but main suggestion to save costs is get a room in a HMO or become a lodger. Those will more likely have bills included and lower minimum terms requested by the LL. Son gets less privacy, but it may even be an opportunity to meet people. 

zagubov

Is he starting this academic year?
This is literally the worst time to look for property in London.
It's very much a landlord's market at this time of year with everyone trying to study here.

SavingPennies_2

Has he been in contact with the Uni? The may offer student/ halls residence, or a list of "approved" private LLs/ house shares which might be his best bet, for the first year at least.