A new trend for overseas students coming to study in London with increasingly high accommodation budgets is leading to an increase in landlords’ rental prices.
Specialist West End estate agency, LDG, has noticed there is a lack of good quality rental properties within areas such as Bloomsbury, which creates opportunities for landlords looking for a buy to let property investment in the area.
Javier Carrillo, LDG’s lettings manager, said: “We are seeing foreign students with budgets of up to £1,000 per week.
“They are not looking for what we’d class as a typical student pad. They usually want very high spec, centrally located, two bedroom flats or apartments.
“For most students, location is the key factor in choosing an apartment. They do not want to walk for more than five minutes to get to their university and, ideally, would like to see it from their window.
“Bloomsbury is a very popular location because it has good access to a number of universities including UCL and The London School of Economics.
“Security is probably the second most important element. Most of LDG’s student clients are young and living alone. Their parents are very concerned about safety and so a porter and CCTV are a big advantage.”
According to LDG, most students renting luxury properties tend to be from Asia, The Middle East or Europe and Russia in particular. These groups tend to have the biggest budgets and will very often pay by cash.
Unless a foreign student has a relative living in the UK, who can co-sign their tenancy agreement, the student must pay a minimum of six months’ rent up-front.
LDG say this is the case with around 90 percent of foreign student tenants. Six months’ rent on a £1,000 per week flat comes to almost £25,000 and wealthy scholars are happy to pay this.
Carrillo added: “Some students, usually in their first year or those who had previously stayed in halls of residence, want to arrange their accommodation early and then have a holiday, so they will begin renting a flat in June or July but not actually move in until September, thus the rent is being paid on the property three or four months in advance, with nobody actually occupying it.”
