Landlords are very confident about student letting market

The new university term will start next month in the UK, and with the added costs this year expected to be levied on students in the form of the £9,000 tuition fee across England and Wales, no-one would blame landlords for feeling uncertain earlier this year.

However, with most students now having secured their tenancies in rental homes for the coming academic year, landlords have reported that the UK property market surrounding those in higher education is still as buoyant as it previously was.

A new study by Paragon has discovered that some 76 per cent of landlords operating in the private market for property to rent have said that they are very confident about the future thanks to an increased number of students looking for houses in what can be a challenging market.

As well as being confident about bringing in tenants for their properties though, it was also announced that landlords look on students favourably as the sort of tenants that they want to see in their properties. The survey named students as the most likely to be punctual when it comes to paying their rent each month.

More than half of those questioned also said that the behaviour of students could be ranked as either "good" or "excellent".

Some of the most important things for landlords to remember when they are allowing their properties to be rented by students is the fact that they like knowledge about transport prospects and being close to local amenities and the campus they will be studying at.

John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages, said: "The student rental market is one of the largest specialist components of the private rented sector. Letting student property is appealing to landlords as they usually benefit from higher than average rental yields as rooms tend to be let on an individual basis. There are generally lower levels of arrears too as student tenancy agreements benefit from parental guarantees."