Majority of students get on well with their landlords, survey suggests

Students in Britain are generally happy with their living conditions and the services provided by their landlords, contrary to the belief that they feel taken advantage, new research suggests.

Some 63% who took part in a new survey said that they were more than satisfied with their living conditions, with more than half of them believing they were getting good value for their rent.

A small percentage, only 7.5% of those surveyed, were largely dissatisfied with their landlord’s communication and general behavior, disproving the widely held notion that student landlord relationships are strained.

Student property app BubbleStudent, which commissioned the survey, pointed out the renting to students can provide lucrative opportunities for buy to let investors, as despite the public perception, students are typically reliable tenants with access to a steady stream of income via student loans and grants.

It added that the majority of student tenants will also be supported by a parent guarantor, minimising the risk of defaulted payments, and the six month lead time on contracts helps to reduce void periods.

The UK has close to two million full time students, nearly half of whom are currently renting from private landlords. The removal of the university admissions cap in 2015 has seen record numbers of students take up places at university, and for investors, students represent a guaranteed market regardless of economic fluctuations.

For students, sourcing the appropriate property can be a challenge. As first time renters’ students often struggle with the processes involved in finding and securing accommodation, and the findings from the survey highlight the value that students place on good landlord relations when it comes selecting a property.

‘There are many misconceptions about the relationship between student tenants and landlords, however, our research has revealed that the majority of students are more than satisfied with general landlord behaviour and the standard of their accommodation, representing a real shift in the dynamic from previous years,’ said Felix Henderson, chief executive officer of BubbleStudent

‘This change is in part due to increasing awareness of just how lucrative the student market can be, along with improvements to the way these relationships are facilitated and managed,’ he pointed out.

‘We use an app based service to match students with properties, book viewings, secure contracts and help students make rental payments. This virtual proximity has gone a long way towards helping to remove some of the barriers and pain points for both students and landlords alike, resulting in improved satisfaction across the field,’ he added.