Got a quick blog clinic query from Gill here, who rents rooms to students:
We have a student who wants to stay in the same room next year but is saying he can’t/won/t pay a retention fee over the summer… surely it is normal practise for all student landlords to charge a small fee (we suggested half the normal rent to retain the room and store possessions – is this unreasonable??)
Be grateful if you would let me know asap what your opinion is as the student is going home to Spain this weekend.
I would say that there is no hard and fast rule here (as in legal rule) – it really depends on what the parties agree.
If the student is unwilling to pay the retainer Gill, you can say to him that he has to take the risk that you will rent the room out to someone else over the summer and he won’t get it. Plus of course if he is not paying the retainer he will not be able to store his possessions there.
I know that many landlords in holiday areas use student accommodation for holiday lets over the summer.
What do other student landlords do over the summer months?
I have always done the 50 percent approach and never had a problem. Students have asked, this is what I have told them and this is what happened. QED
I agree 50% is very fair and enables the student to go away knowing they can a) store their belongings there and b) return to the same room next term. I find some students vacate entirely, some choose to keep the room and continue to pay full rent and others will ask if they can have a discount for that period. I usually will agree 50% on the condition that they understand that all bills etc continue to be their responsiblity during the time they are not there. I have never had a problem on this approach.