Student Rentals - How much should you pay upfront

lowethlongshot

Daughter 1 rented through a private landlord when in uni, but daughter 2 has found a property through an agent. 

It is a 12month contract starting 1/7/25 with a 50% reduction for July & Aug if unoccupied, which I understand is pretty normal. The agent however is asking for nearly £1300 before she even restarts uni next year : £430 payable now, upon signing the contract (this is positioned as the July-Aug payment) and then £430 deposit (quite normal, I understand this) payable 30/6/25 and £430 one month rent due 30/5/25 (again I understand this) 
Then she is expected to pay £1720 1/9/25 which is Sept-Dec rent in advance - again I understand this, but it is before her student finance comes through and I have got them to agree to take £430 for sept and then the rest when finance comes through. 

So, essentially she has to find £1290 before she even returns to uni. 

Is it normal and/or acceptable for her to pay the initial £430 7 months prior to the contract starting in addition to the deposit, especially as it has been agreed that the property won’t be occupied. 

I’d really welcome your thoughts. 

daveyjp

I'd call the uni accommodation team to enquire about general supply and availability.  It its plentiful it may be prudent to hang fire.

I know my city has an oversupply of traditional shared house student accommodation and even now at the end of the first academic term local agents have plenty of adverts for rooms to let.

lowethlongshot

There is an amount of oversupply,
however she needs to secure a property with a select group of people and within a certain distance from campus for walking due to managing her anxiety. I will however look into speaking to the uni accommodation team as the agent is on their list of approved agents. Many thanks. 

Albermarle

Is it normal and/or acceptable for her to pay the initial £430 7 months prior to the contract starting in addition to the deposit, especially as it has been agreed that the property won’t be occupied. 

Probably there is not a 'normal' as all deals will be different.
Regarding if it is acceptable or not. If the agent insists on it , then your choice is to accept or not. Although as you have already seen there might be some room to negotiate.
In financial terms we are not talking about huge amounts of money. Would you be in a position to lend her the money and maybe reduce any potential anxiety?


It is a 12month contract starting 1/7/25 with a 50% reduction for July & Aug if unoccupied, 

Maybe worth clarifying what 'unoccupied' means exactly . It can be useful for students to get access during these months to drop stuff off in advance for example.