Landlord Products / Services
I’ve been an avid fan of online letting agents for Donkey’s years – they’re by far my preferred means of finding private residential tenants as a self-managing landlord. However, at the same time, I’ve always made the case that traditional high-street letting agents aren’t dead (or despite popular belief, totally useless), and they’re unlikely to get buried anytime soon, and that’s because they still have a place in the market, catering for certain landlords and specific circumstances.
However, when it comes to finding student tenants, the only option that makes sense in 2021 in my mind, is to use an online student letting agent, and that’s primarily because the students of today are fully plugged into the internet, so it’s generally the first and only place they look for, well, every-bloody-thing, and that includes inspiration, confidence, love and student accommodation.
Ultimately, in this day and age, the most efficient and cost-effective way of finding student tenants is undoubtedly online.
Use a specialist student accommodation website to find student tenants (not a generic tenant-find website)!
Spend a couple of minutes searching in Google, and you’ll quickly realise there’s no shortage of websites which allow landlords to market their property online (for a very reasonable and alluring price). However, many of them aren’t student-friendly. Or at least, they’re more geared towards finding tenants for residential BTL landlords as opposed to student accommodation. Needless to say, that’s not what you want!
It’s critical to use a service (or services) that will specifically market your student accommodation to students! Yes, it’s a no-brainer, but it’s a mistake many landlords make. The obvious problem is, using a generic tenant-find service could result in the wrong audience eyeing up your property. Total waste of time and money.
So to help you save some time, I’ve curated my list of favourite student accommodation websites that will flaunt your offer to the right crowd, helping you find student-tenants in no time. Oh, and also, I’ve intentionally listed a mixed bag of services, all slightly varying in their offering, so feel free to pick your poison(s)…
| Supplier | Rating | Duration | Notes / Includes | Price from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Supplier | Rating Google Reviews | Duration 5 days / 3 months* | Includes / NotesUltimate Advertising package
*5 days free, and then the option of continuing service for 3 months service for £39 for new customers and £49 for returning customers! | Price *FREEInc VAT Free Trial | More Info |
Supplier | Rating TrustPilot Reviews | Duration Until Let | Includes / NotesFree Ads package
| Price from FREE | More Info |
Supplier | Rating TrustPilot Reviews | Duration Per month | Notes / IncludesLandlords package
| Price from £24Inc VAT | More Info |
Please note, I try my best to keep the information of each service up-to-date, but you should read the T&C’s from their website for the most up-to-date information.
Other Popular Services
Just in case you require a couple of other competitive quotes for popular student let services…
FAQs
Can/Should I use all the services listed?
Can you? Yes.
Should you? As a general rule, I wouldn’t use every service that I come across, because it will most likely be overkill and a complete pain in the ass to manage. However, I would definitely be selective and use multiple services to maximise exposure, which in turn will increase the volume of leads, providing quicker results (that’s the theory anyways).
I would use a handful of services that offer unique opportunities, so to address the question at hand, I would use all the services listed above, but only because I specifically hand-picked reputable services that offer varying features.
For example, OpenRent is the only one that will list your property on Rightmove and Zoopla (the two biggest UK property portals). The other two services, SpareRoom and Accommodation, will only advertise properties on their own respective websites, so I’d also sign up for both their services.
Should I use a service that lists on Rightmove?
Almost all landlords want their property listed on Rightmove, and there’s a good reason for that; it’s the biggest UK property portal, and it’s not even close!
The reality is, getting your rental property on Rightmove will statistically increase the exposure to your property listing.
Bottom line, I think Rightmove is a necessity.
If you do use a service that will list your property/room on Rightmove, ensure it gets listed in the “UK student accommodation” section. OpenRent, for example, let’s you select a “Students Only” filter during registration (as shown below). If that’s ticked, your listing will automatically appear in Rightmove’s UK student accommodation section when the advert goes live.
OpenRent Tenant Preferences
Which is the best website to find student tenants?
You’re not going to like my answer, because it’s a cop-out.
Well, actually, I don’t think it’s a cop-out, but I understand why some people might think it is.
Honestly, I can’t pick one, and that’s why I’ve selected my favourite few. I could have added plenty more services, but I only listed the ones I would use myself. Plus, as said, they all vary in some shape or form, so there’s a very reasonable argument for using them all.
Hope this has been useful.
Happy hunting!
Disclaimer: I'm just a landlord blogger; I'm 100% not qualified to give legal or financial advice. I'm a doofus. Any information I share is my unqualified opinion, and should never be construed as professional legal or financial advice. You should definitely get advice from a qualified professional for any legal or financial matters. For more information, please read my full disclaimer.
