Finding student tenants isn’t usually the hardest part of running a student rental—assuming you’re in the right location, priced sensibly, and the property meets expectations. But even in high-demand areas, you can’t rely on a “to let” sign and hope for the best. Students start hunting early, often months before their current tenancy ends, and they look for clear, fast communication, safe housing, and transparent costs. If you’re not visible where they’re looking—or your property doesn’t meet what they’re expecting—you risk being overlooked, especially in areas with newer PBSA competition or stricter council controls.

The student lettings market works on a predictable academic cycle, and being a few weeks late can mean a full year without tenants. So timing, visibility, and knowing where students are actually searching matters more than ever.

Know When Students Start Looking

In most university towns, students start looking for the next year’s housing between November and February, though some markets are shifting later—especially where the universities or student unions campaign against early lets. For final-year students and postgraduates, the cycle can run a bit later into spring and early summer, but undergrads tend to move early and in groups.

If your property is still vacant by April, your chance of letting it drops—unless you’re flexible on start dates, or willing to let to a smaller group, individuals, or short-term lets. Late advertising means you’ll be competing with landlords who’ve already done viewings and signed tenancy agreements by Easter.

List Where Students Actually Look

The most effective way to find student tenants is to list your property where they’re already searching. That’s rarely just the big property portals. While Rightmove and Zoopla do get traffic, students often start their search through:

• University-affiliated housing platforms, such as Studentpad or StudentTenant
• Student Union listings, bulletin boards, and housing fairs
• Specialist student letting agencies, who dominate local markets in many towns
• Facebook groups, WhatsApp chats, and Reddit threads where student groups organise themselves
• SpareRoom, particularly for individual room lets or mid-year fill-ins

Make sure your listing is complete, with good-quality photos, a clear floorplan, accurate rent info (stating if bills are included), and a breakdown of what’s available (room sizes, number of bathrooms, type of contract, deposit amount). If students can’t quickly compare it to similar properties, they’ll move on.

Use Letting Agents Who Know the Market

If you’re not local, or you have more than one student property, partnering with a student-specific letting agent makes a lot of sense. Generic high street agents may not understand the seasonal nature of student tenancies, the importance of pre-marketing months in advance, or how to handle group viewings and guarantor paperwork.

Good student agents already have relationships with housing officers, incoming international students, and student societies. They know when to start marketing, how to screen students fairly, and what documents are legally required (especially for compliance under HMO rules or in licensing areas).

While agents will take a percentage—typically 8% to 15%—many landlords find that this is worthwhile just to avoid chasing tenants, handling viewings, or dealing with the turnover stress at the end of each year.

Work With the University (or Around It)

Universities don’t recommend individual landlords directly, but they often work with approved housing schemes or accreditation bodies that promote safe, compliant student housing. Being on one of these lists gets you into the official channels students use when they’re new, international, or unsure of where to start.

In the UK, many landlords sign up to university-endorsed schemes like Unipol or ANUK, which allow your property to be featured on university housing platforms. These schemes require compliance with a code of conduct—covering safety, repairs, and tenancy terms—but they also help build credibility with cautious students and parents.

Offer What Students Actually Want

The best marketing is still word of mouth—and students talk. If your current tenants had a bad experience, your next tenants might hear about it before they even see your listing.

What most student tenants want is fairly basic:

• Decent sized bedrooms
• Good Wi-Fi
• Clean bathrooms (ideally more than one for larger groups)
• A working boiler
• Responsive landlords
• Simple contracts and rent terms

The extras—like TVs, dishwashers, smart locks—only matter after the essentials are sorted. Offering bills-inclusive packages (at a clear, honest rate) can also make your property more appealing, especially to international or first-year students renting privately for the first time.

Use Social Proof and Renewals

Encourage existing tenants to renew early if you’ve had a good relationship with them. This saves you time, money, and voids. Offer incentives to stay—like minor upgrades or stable rent—even if it’s just repainting or replacing old furniture.

Some landlords also use referral incentives—£50 off rent if a current tenant recommends someone who takes a room—which can work well in properties with separate room lets.

Be Responsive and Professional

Once enquiries start coming in, reply quickly. Students are often viewing several properties in the same day. If you don’t respond within 24 hours, you’re probably not going to hear from them again.

When showing the property, be clear about:

• Rent and what’s included
• Deposit and guarantor requirements
• Contract length and renewal options
• What’s expected at check-out

Clarity here avoids conflict later and shows you’re not going to disappear once the contract is signed.

Conclusion

Finding students to rent your property isn’t difficult if you understand when and where they’re searching, and you offer what they actually need. That means marketing early, being visible on the right platforms, and staying competitive—not just on rent, but on service. Student rentals work best when you treat the tenants like customers: give them a fair deal, communicate clearly, and they’ll fill your property—and often recommend it to the next group after them.