Goodbye to the ‘Young Ones'

The student tenant stereotype of Vivian & co from the ‘Young Ones' is dead, with landlords viewing the student market as a desirable sector to let property to.

Research from Paragon Mortgages, the buy-to-let specialist lender, has revealed that students are punctual with rent payments, well-behaved and maintain the property well during the tenancy. Landlords also state that students are a profitable sector to let to with high levels of demand for property.

And landlords are adapting their property to reflect the changing demands of the student market, with broadband connection and satellite television now high up on students' wish list for a property.

Paragon's Trends research reveals that four out of five landlords in the student market (81%) classed students as being punctual rental payers, while 90% said that their student tenants were well-behaved during their tenancy. And despite students' stereotype of being messy, nearly two thirds of landlords said that their tenants kept the property well-maintained.

Meanwhile, 89% of landlords in the student sector said they were experiencing strong levels of demand for their property, while 95% said that students are a profitable market to let to.

John Heron, Paragon Mortgages managing director, said: ‘The ‘Young Ones' image of students is massively outdated, with the reality being far different. As opposed to students being rowdy and destructive tenants, they are looking after the property because they want to avoid losing deposits and incurring costs for repairs and replacements. Going to university these days is an expensive business anyway, so students have to be more careful with their costs.

‘There is always going to be a social element to university and some students will obviously take better care of a property than others, but generally they are a positive bunch to let to and the yields can be stronger because most properties are let on a per room basis.'

Aside from cost, landlords said that proximity to the university was the main factor students considered when looking for a property to rent, with internet connection ranked second on the list of considerations. Distance to a pub was third, while whether the property had satellite connection was fourth. High quality white goods was fifth on the list, with the property's proximity to the library coming last.

Heron added: ‘The quality of student sector property stock is in considerably better condition than it was in the past due to a combination of increased investment by landlords and stronger regulation. Students are behaving better than they did in the past, but in return they are demanding better quality accommodation, with modern features such as internet connection and satellite television.'