I need advice on what I need to provide my tenants in a student accommodation home?

Question

I'm thinking of renting my new home as a student accommodation shared home. I have all the legal side of things sorted out but I'm not quite sure on what I need to provide my tenants with. It will be fully furnished and the kitchen will be equipped with all cooking needs, bedrooms will be fitted with linen, but how many sets do I need and who will be responsible for cleaning them. Me or the tenant? Also do I need to provide towels for the bathroom or do they bring and use their own? Besides having the home furnished I'm dumbfounded about all the little things like bin liners for the rubbish bins and detergent and sponges for the kitchen. Who is responsible for those.

I could do with some helpful tips please... those who are already in shared accommodation should have a pretty good idea.

Answer 1

I would suggest providing linens is a very bad idea and an unnecessary expense for you. Having just finished living in a rented student house I can honestly tell you these items will probably get ruined. You will come in to wash them and find students still asleep in them! Also most students will have probably bought their own linen in their first year when they lived in halls of residents- one of the really nice bits of being a student is being able to customise your room with your own bedding.

Again, I really wouldn't recommend giving them towels- most students have their own and they will ruin them (I flung away four belonging to housemates in the last year because they covered them in hair dye/let them go mouldy/never washed them etc).  

Secondly, leave all bin bags/detergent/washing up liquid to your tennants. You will find if you provide these items for them they will start taking the mickey out of you very quickly.Most students come back to uni from the holidays laden with household items their mothers have bought for them anyway. With the exception of strip and halogen lightbulbs I'd say leave the rest to them.

As some other people have said, if you provide too much the local authority will think you are running a hotel of some sort, especially if they pay weekly rent. Whilst you do need to provide kitchen/bathroom bins, the local council should provide an outside bin of some sort. Give them a ring to find out.

Answer 2

Today students require more than just the basics.  They tend to need a high speed internet connection.  I am not saying you need to pay for it, but when you promote your location, you should make all the options available for them to select from.

Answer 3

That's entirely up to you.  

However be sure that you are permitted to use your home for that purpose.  If you are providing linens, towels, etc. and cleaning services it may be deemed that you are operating a transient facility (hotel, motel, or hostel) and that may not be allowed in an area zoned for residential use.  And if the area is zoned for single-family residences, operating a boarding house (with or without the linen services) may not be permitted.

Make SURE that you truly have addressed the zoning laws (planning permission in the UK) or you may be in for a nasty surprise, especially when your neighbors start complaining about noise, lots of cars, comings and goings at all hours, etc.

Answer 4

depends whether it is furnished or unfurnished. as they are students

consult the university. there are also very strict laws regarding letting, to do with safety, deposits etc.

you can register with the university as a landlord, and they will help you.

you need to do this properly or could end up breaking the law.

things like detergent down to the tenant.

consult your local council as well.