Students Are The Most Reliable Tenants

According to new research, students are the most reliable tenants in the private rented sector (PRS).

Statistics from Total Landlord Insurance show only 9.6 per cent of insurance claims come from student properties, which is the second lowest of any tenant group, according to Property Reporter.

The average claim from a student property was £2,090.18 in 2013, compared to £6,072.97 for the typical house with Department of Social Security tenants.

Eddie Hooker, chief executive of Total Landlord Insurance, stated: “Students tend to live in properties for nine months of the year and then move out, giving landlords the summer months to carry out necessary maintenance work for the following batch of students. Something that other residential landlords might not get the opportunity to do as frequently.”

He added students often have their parents acting as guarantors meaning any unpaid rent is normally covered and this often extends to paying for property repairs as well. Mr Hooker said this regularly allows for problems to be solved without the need for an insurance claim.

Last year, a survey carried out by the National Landlords Association found students are seen as some of the best tenants in the PRS as they are less likely to miss rent and student properties tend to offer better returns.

More good news has been announced for the student rental sector this week, as it has been revealed landlords of purpose-built student accommodation will be exempt from having to carry out immigration checks on tenants as part of the government’s new Immigration Bill.

The British Property Federation has been campaigning for this change to be made, as students already go through a number of vigorous checks before being allowed to enter the UK.

Ian Fletcher, the organisation’s director of policy, stated: “We are very satisfied to see that our amendments to the Immigration Bill have been accepted.”

He added that if the UK’s universities are to compete on a global scale the government needs to make it easier for students to come in from abroad rather than harder.