Friend of mine is renting a house near a UC that is well known to have limited neighborhood housing. He wants to rent to UC students (typically applying in groups of 4 or 5) but he is also worried about the risks of renting out to a student population. Anyone here who rented their property to a group of students? If you did, can you share the pros and cons?
Think this depends on your expectations. College kids are like most renters–you get the good with the bad but they do tend to come with more parties. Is the place older or a new place you want to be left pristine? They are less likely to clean things perhaps but that doesn’t mean they won’t leave the property in good shape either. Are we talking freshman or older students (like in vicinity of the law or med school)?
My son rented with his friends for years around his law school–there were several homes in a row that were rented and basically passed down by word of mouth to students. Landlord was close by and enjoyed the kids being there.
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He is seeing a lot of sophomores who are leaving freshman dorms and trying to find housing. I think there is an intention to help students but there seems to be too many risks - maintenance/cleanliness, parties, people moving in/out of the lease etc. What I would like to identify is if there is a set of profiling parameters (grad school vs. undergrad, age etc.) that minimizes the risk.
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Very large deposit (2x rent) if allowed in Calif. All tenants on the lease and if one moves out - lease has to transfer/add new renter with landlord approval.
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Is it in a neighborhood full of families, or is the neighborhood already full of student rentals? Please don’t do it if it’s the former. We lived that nightmare for a few years. The house next door was foreclosed on, and the guy rented it to as many students as he could. It seemed to be the football team clubhouse for one year and an unsanctioned frat house for a couple more.
But also check local laws to see how many people you can rent it to. Ultimately that’s what saved us. The code here says only 3 unrelated people may rent a single family dwelling. That wasn’t enough for him to make it profitable and he sold it.
And all groups completely trashed the place. It was nice when he bought it. We took care of it for the previous owners when they moved overseas. When the last group of kids left, they left the side door standing wide open. It was like that for 2 weeks until I called the real estate agency overseeing it. Trash covering the entire floor knee deep, large holes in the walls, alcohol bottles everywhere.
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Its the former and in fact the development is mostly owner-occupied. I will pass on this feedback.
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Hefty security deposits.
Local zoning may require a permit and inspection for fire safety, mold, or working appliances; and there may be local limits on number of cars, noise.
Also the property insurance may have exclusions for underage renters.
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Graduate or professional students and non-traditional students are likely to be a lot less risky and rowdy compared to traditional undergraduate students.
Be careful about profiling characteristics. Use of some characteristics constitutes illegal discrimination, and state laws may have more protected characteristics (example). It may be best to ask a lawyer familiar with housing laws applicable to the area about what is and is not illegal discrimination in the area. Note that non-traditional student status is commonly defined by age, veteran status, and/or marriage/family status, all of which can be protected characteristics, so that would be something to ask a lawyer about.
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Makes sense. He is an experienced landlord so he knows how to do it compliantly. May be profiling is the wrong word. What he is interested in is are there questions or indicators (besides the prohibited factors) that can judge the level of risk associated with a group of student renters. My advice is to see if the parents can co-sign the lease at the minimum.
Note that graduate, professional, and non-traditional students are usually considered independent of parents for financial aid purposes. At some universities, graduate students may include a large percentage of international students, for whom parents may be less accessible to co-sign anyway.
The student rental landlords here all ask parents to co-sign if possible, it is legal. Mostly there is more demand than supply so landlords have no problems finding students who will comply. However, be prepared to have annual turnovers.
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Have rented to students. Single family residence but they were graduate students so older. Over the last 15 years the roommates have changed. I’m sure when they all eventually move a lot of work will need to be done but that’s true with most tenants.
Any state or local laws must be followed when choosing tenants. There are fair housing laws and one needs to know what they can and can’t ask for.
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