How to Prepare your Student Tenants for Moving Out

Arthur Online invites specialist landlord insurance provider Just Landlords who explore how to manage student tenancies as they come to an end.

For landlords of student properties, tenancy agreements are usually shorter than for more typical lets. This means that, at this time of year, many landlords will be preparing for their agreements with student tenants to come to an end. Specialist Landlord Insurance provider Just Landlords has the tips you need to prepare for check-out…

Some time around May/June, student tenants start to think about moving out of their rental accommodation and going back to their hometowns for the summer. If you let a private rental property to student tenants, there are certain responsibilities that you both have before they move out.

These handy tips will help you understand what those responsibilities are and should enable you to prepare for a quick, smooth check-out:

Complete a final inspection

 Throughout a tenancy, landlords should conduct regular periodic inspections of their property to ensure that the tenant is sticking to the agreement and is looking after their rental home. It is recommended that you carry these out every quarter.

However, if you are soon to be coming to the end of a tenancy agreement, it is a good idea to complete a final periodic inspection before the check-out procedure begins. This enables you to highlight any issues that the tenant will need to resolve (such as cleaning problems) before they move out.

Not only should this help you get your property back in a good condition, but it will also aid the tenant in getting their full deposit back, so remind them of this!

Follow with a report

After the periodic inspection is complete, follow up your visit with a written report that you can email over to your tenant. This ensures that there is a paper trail to follow if your recommendations aren’t carried out or if the tenant tries to make a complaint against you.

Remember that it’s always wise to have evidence of every visit that you’ve completed, but especially before the check-out procedure begins, as you can clearly prove that you have complied with your responsibilities as a landlord.

You should also ask the tenant to sign the document, as well as signing it yourself, for proof that they have read and understood its contents.

Confirm your expectations

Within the report and through any further communications, you should outline your expectations for the end of the tenancy, such as the requirement for the property to be cleaned to a professional standard.

This not only helps student tenants understand their responsibilities, but also further cements your expectations for the condition of the property at check-out, thus providing further evidence if any deposit dispute were to arise.

You can go through this list of expectations during the check-out procedure if the tenant has not completed their responsibilities, to highlight that you did make them clear.

Invite them to check-out

This is a tip that can be helpful for any tenancy, but could be particularly useful for student tenants, who are likely to be renting for the first time. If you complete the check-out inspection and report without them, your tenants may not necessarily understand what they should have done differently, which could lead to a deposit dispute.

By inviting them to be present when you inspect the property, you can go through each room and each of your expectations together, ensuring that both parties are on the same page.

It is also a good opportunity to end the tenancy on a personable level and ensure that your tenant was happy with their time in your property.

Ending any tenancy can be difficult, especially with student tenants, but it doesn’t need to be. By putting these steps in place early, you will ensure a smoother move for all.

Written by Just Landlords

Also, why not check out the features of our student property management software for managing your property portfolio.