Landlords must be sure they know student tenants

14th September 2012

Landlords in the process of extending their portfolio with Salford Quays apartments must ensure they know their student tenants as well as possible before signing a contract.

This is the advice of Eddie Hooker, managing director of Total Landlord Insurance, who stated that people letting out a property without the help of Salford Quays letting agents must be careful when taking on tenants.

"A lot of landlords will have joint tenancy agreements for students because there will be four or five sharers in a property," he said. "Just make sure you know who the people are who are moving in and that you get things like parental guarantees so if bills aren't paid, rent is behind or there's an issue with the deposit at the end of the tenancy you can go back to the parents and discuss it with them."

References are also a good idea, as this will give landlords an idea about what sort of tenant a person is and whether they have a record - albeit a short one - of looking after a property.

Furthermore, a "robust" tenancy agreement will offer protection against wayward tenants and is a great way to communicate what is expected from those living in a property.

This should also include an inventory of the state of the flat prior to the tenant moving in and the contents of the property, such as white goods and cleaning appliances.

If further items are bought by a landlord during a tenancy, a log must be made of this and shared with tenants to prevent any disputes.

"It's all about preparation right at the beginning of the tenancy – make sure there's proper paperwork and everyone's aware of what their obligations are," Mr Hooker concluded.

However, to ensure that everything is properly in place, a letting agent is priceless, especially for first time landlords.

JJT Residential Services are a Manchester letting agents with a wealth of experience in the rental industry for landlords looking to market their properties.