With A-level results out later this week, landlords in many of the UK’s provincial towns and cities as well as the capital will be anticipating a new influx of tenants.
It is expected once again that the pass rate for A-levels will supersede anything previously seen and with it a rush for university places. It may well also precipitate a rush in quotes for cheap landlord insurance. Although it is most certainly wrong to tar everyone with the same brush, it would be a foolhardy landlord who did not secure landlord insurance for properties housing students.
Very often the teenagers are away from home for the first time and are embarking on a steep learning curve not only in education, but also in the art of caring for oneself and their belongings. They will encounter problems that have always been sorted by their parents and will be doing household chores and using household implements that simply were not in their domain before.
Accidents will happen and with it damage to properties. A tap left running can not only cause flood damage to the room in question, but there is the added danger of the water finding its way downstairs causing damage to the room below, which may well be used by another student in the same house. It is a common site in student halls of residence to see the fire brigade on call. Usually because a smoke alarm has been activated by an unsuspecting student not yet versed in the art of cooking or the geography of their new flat.
It will pay a landlord great dividends to welcome and support his new tenants in whatever way he can. Time spent with the students in the first few weeks of their tenancy can go a long way to building up a good relationship with customers, who could well be renting the property for at least 3 years. Take time to explain the kitchen, the heating system and the plumbing. Any good landlord will have ensured all safety requirements are met anyway, but go to great lengths to explain fire rules and how electrical appliances work. It will also help to meet parents, they will take comfort in the knowledge that their fledglings are in the hands of a good landlord and remember there is often a younger sibling who will be looking for rooms a couple of years hence.