Every September, parents across the country pack their car boots with duvets, toasters, towels and bottle openers to take their 18- and 19-year-olds off to college for the first time. It’s a moment that feels as momentous as their first day of school.
If you are lucky enough to get a place in a halls of residence (accommodation designed specifically for students), the rent usually includes bills; and although the average rent is £155 a week, this varies widely.
However, in a few months they’ll have to make living arrangements for their second year, and that’s where things get complicated… and more expensive.
Parents should be wary of misleading clauses and risks associated with student accommodation rentals that can cost them hundreds of pounds and, in some cases, even damage their credit rating.
There are also helpful tips you can give your children to ensure they don’t get caught out and lose their deposit at the end of the rental.
The first hurdle to consider is that most student housing landlords insist that parents or guardians sign the rental agreement as guarantors, since students have poor credit history. Many parents (myself included) sign the agreement without thinking twice and pay the deposit (usually one month’s rent) in the hope that it will be returned when our student child moves out.
In a few months they will have to make living arrangements for their second year, and that’s where things get complicated… and expensive, writes Annabel Venning
The lack of student accommodation is driving up costs, and mum and dad have to act as guarantors for landlords and will be held liable if things go wrong.
However, this is not always the case. Lost deposits, unpaid rent, arguments over bills… There are many obstacles faced by students, parents and landlords when it comes to student accommodation.
As guarantors, if any of the tenants – your child or one of his roommates – does not pay the rent, all Tenants and all guarantors are jointly liable.
And if the landlord goes to court to recover unpaid rent, you will be involved too, even if your student is up to date with their share of the rent. This can impact your credit rating for six years if a county court judgment (CCJ) is issued against you.
So it pays to carefully choose not only your home, but also your roommates – which isn’t easy when there’s the pressure of signing a second-year lease within weeks of arriving as a first-year tenant.
It is also worth reviewing the rental agreement in detail.
Check legal obligations: Are tenants allowed to smoke? If not, and they do, they (and you) could get into trouble.
Full-time student housing is exempt from council tax. But are gas, electricity, water, internet and TV licence bills included? If not, how much do they cost on average? Ask current tenants.
If your home is poorly insulated, heating bills can become unaffordable.
Many rental contracts include an obligation to keep the property adequately ventilated to prevent damp and mould. So if you try to keep the heat in by keeping the windows closed, you could be in breach of the conditions.
Property owners are required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), but these have a duration of ten years, during which the heating system may have been modified for better or worse.
Many first-year students have to start organizing their second-year accommodation within a few months of arriving.
This was the case when my son Will rented a house during his second year at Falmouth University two years ago. The landlord had recently installed an electric boiler which was not sufficient to heat a seven-bedroom property, especially one which was already damp, as evidenced by the green algae growing on the front wall.
This should have been a red flag, or perhaps a green flag, but since there were so few student housing available, they moved in and soon regretted it.
Even heating the house to a barely habitable 15C cost £25 a day, so the mould only got worse. Black spores spread across the bedroom walls. When he and his housemates, all suffering from coughs and colds, complained to their landlord, they were blamed for not heating and ventilating the house enough. The problem was never resolved.
Alex Stanley, Vice President for Higher Education at the National Union of Students, said: “Students are facing a housing crisis. Not only is it unaffordable, but the housing available is unsuitable – poorly insulated, riddled with mould and pests – and landlords are reluctant to do anything about it.”
But these are also tough times for student homeowners. Increased regulation and sharp interest rate rises in recent years have pushed up their costs, says Chris Norris of the National Homeowners Association.
He says: ‘Two-thirds of the market have mortgages for buy-to-let. If the mortgage is substantial and they’ve gone from 1 per cent to 6 per cent interest, then it’s hard to break even. Four per cent is the typical yield for student properties.
“Many landlords are thinking of selling. If the government imposes more regulations on landlords, some might decide to sell and put their money into something safer, with less risk and 4-5 percent interest (the same as they get from renting, but without the hassle), which would lead to more shortages and higher rents.”
Regulations have added substantial costs for landlords. HMO (House of Multiple Occupancy) licences required for properties housing more than three tenants cost landlords £500 per year per property, fire doors (mandatory in all properties) cost £1,000 each, then there are fire risk assessments, Legionella risk assessments (Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia caused by inhaling infected water droplets, and artificial hot and cold water systems can provide an environment where Legionella can grow), gas safety certificates, electrical installation certificates.
Added to this are the additional costs incurred by tenants with no experience in managing a home.
This can lead to disputes over what constitutes “normal wear and tear” between landlords and students. All landlords are required by law to put deposits (usually one month’s rent) into a government-backed deposit protection scheme (DPS). Tenants should get their deposit back, less deductions for damage, but should not have to pay for “normal wear and tear”.
“Student tenants suffer a lot of wear and tear,” says one landlord.
‘Washing machines are always overloaded and never cleaned, so they rarely last more than two years before needing to be replaced. Dryers are also overloaded and filters rarely emptied, so motors burn out after a couple of years. Microwave ovens are never cleaned and rust so much during 12-month rentals that they need to be replaced annually, along with toasters and kettles.
“In the 12+ years I’ve been living there as a student, only 10 percent of tenants do any cleaning during their tenancy. Bathrooms are left in such poor condition that bathtubs and showers need to be re-sealed every year due to mould growth from lack of cleaning.”
If one of your housemates breaks rental rules, such as smoking when it is prohibited, all students in the house will be held responsible.
However, many relationships between landlords and students are harmonious and problem-free. Communication is key, advises Sarah Black, who became an “accidental” student landlord when she bought a property in Bath after her son, who was studying there, struggled to find somewhere to live, and now owns six student properties.
Sarah has a WhatsApp group with all her tenants and encourages them to communicate through it, ensuring that any issues are dealt with at the root. She is forgiving of mistakes from “trainee” tenants, such as those who ask for a replacement for a “broken” light fixture that turns out to simply need a new bulb.
Students are urged to carefully review the itinerary provided by the owner or their agent, touring the home with them on the first day of rental and pointing out any discrepancies or damages.
‘Take photos of any marks or damage that isn’t listed and report anything, no matter how small, like a broken drawer, clothes rail or even a bad smell, as quickly as possible. Put it in writing so you have something to fall back on when you move out.
“Many students don’t realize that they have to participate in the inventory on the first day. If something goes wrong, such as a water leak, landlords want to be informed immediately, even if it’s 11 p.m. on a Sunday, which is often the case.”
The new government is promising more regulation in the Tenants’ Rights Bill, which could further increase costs for landlords, while the shortage of student accommodation is set to worsen. In cities such as Manchester and Bristol, the shortage is already increasing by 100,000 beds a year.
More purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) is being built. But in the meantime, students and their parents are advised to treat the rental house like a car: take photos, be careful and return it in exactly the same condition as when they rented it.
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