Student HMOs VS Professional HMOs?

Unless stated on the licence there are no issues

Recheck with your council

In what way does the current licence suggest it’s for students? I didn’t realise that there was such a possibility?

Hi Maya
As a HMO student landlord I believe the HMO license won’t be affected by the type of tenants, just the number – so if you replace students with the same amount of non-students it will be fine. The only issue is with your lender (if you have a mortgage) as some may specify a certain type of tenant. But if they have accepted your students then it’s unlikely they would have an issue with non-students. Good luck!

Hi Maya

I’ve been in Student Property for many years now and I would stick with students if I was you. They leave every year, so if you have any problem tenants they are gone, and you can also put the rent up every year if you want to with new students signing a new contract. My experience with students has always been, if you respect them they’ll respect you. Good Luck!

We let to working professionals. The rental cycle is different (you may have people stay for years on end and therefore you have to be pro active about increasing the rent within the term of the agreement) but the rules related to the property (licensing, fire regs etc) are no different. I guess the only difference might be that students are happy to put up with ‘living conditions’ that older people might not

I rent to students. I find the advantage is they all have a similar mind set, i.e. they are usually the same age group, they are there to study and tend to rent as an established group of friends.
Renting to ‘professionals’ is usually to several single persons where each individual will have different requirements. There could be big age or cultutal differences, some may be working shifts and want a quiet house during the day etc.
Also you will need to account for Council Tax with working people.
Tony

In addition to previous comments; your insurance may be different and if you’re changing from a single contract to individual contracts your fire regs will be different. You will need to check your mortgage too.

If you let to a non-student the property will be liable to council tax.

Reply to the comment left by JB at 24/04/2024 – 11:16
Just because tenants are students it doesn’t mean the contract(s) have to be for individuals. I always have groups of students on 1 contract

I let HMO rooms only under individual AST’s to employed professionals. I think most student HMO’s are let under a single joint and severable AST. From my experience the main difference is that professionals expect a higher standard of accommodation, response to maintenance / repair issues and a higher standard of cleaning in shared areas. They may also work from home (their room), so super fast / reliable WiFi and room comfort is important. Renting on a room basis permits the landlord to enter any shared area at any time. However, notice is always appreciated. Rooms may become unoccupied at varying times, but most will be occupied. This ensures most income all year round. With professionals, face -to -face interviews and stringent vetting / reference checks are necessary. This will ensure the HMO is looked after and they integrate with other tenants.