Renting an apartment to students – pros and cons

A person who owns an unoccupied apartment in a larger city has several ways to earn income from it. You can opt for long-term rental to a married couple or a whole family. In cities attractive to tourists, you can rent out apartments short-term. In turn, every city with a university offers the possibility of long-term rental to students. Each option has both pros and cons – every apartment owner has to analyze them and decide on the next steps.

What kind of apartments are students looking for?

Students are most keen to rent apartments with several rooms and a separate kitchen and bathroom. Some young people look for an apartment together with friends, and some on their own. So you can rent the apartment either by the room or as a whole to a group of friends. An important issue is the location of the apartment. Students are most keen to rent rooms in the city center or close to universities. Easy access to public transportation also matters.

An apartment for students should have basic furniture and equipment:

• wardrobes, desks, beds, tables and chairs for the rooms (a TV and internet access will also be an asset);
• roller blinds on the windows, possibly sheer curtains or drapes;
• a washing machine and a dryer in the bathroom;
• cabinets, a table, a kettle, a fridge and an oven in the kitchen (a dishwasher and a microwave will be an added bonus);
• a few pots, a set of dishes and cutlery.

Pros of renting an apartment to students

A person who owns an apartment in a suitable location can rent it to students either by the room or focus on renting it to a group of people. What are the advantages of this solution?

• Preparing an apartment for students doesn’t require a large financial outlay. Of course, it has to be nice and tidy, but you don’t need to buy top-of-the-line furniture, appliances or tableware. When equipping the apartment, you can rely on chain-store sales or second-hand items from OLX.
• The apartment is usually rented for a calendar year, which means that apart from minor repairs or the need to check on the apartment, the owner doesn’t spend time day to day looking for new tenants, handing over keys or organizing cleaning, as with short-term rental.
• If the students like the apartment, it’s quite possible that they will rent it for the entire duration of their studies, i.e. several years. This means steady, proven tenants for years and steady monthly income without gaps.
• Students don’t expect luxury, so there is no need to keep spending your own money on renovations or on replacing furnishings or decorations with more “up-to-date” ones.

Cons of renting an apartment to students

Unfortunately, renting an apartment or rooms to young people who have only just moved out of their parents’ home also carries risk. What are the downsides of this solution??

• Full-time students often either don’t work at all or work only casually. Some receive smaller or larger support from their parents. However, there is a risk of the tenants being unable to pay or of late payments.
• Youth, and especially the student years, is a time not only for studying but also for loud and frequent parties. It may therefore turn out that the neighbors complain about the noise. In some situations you also have to reckon with a police intervention.
• People aged 19-25 are technically adults, but unfortunately not everyone at that age is responsible and mature. In some situations you can therefore expect a lack of care for cleanliness or for other people's property (appliances and furniture in the apartment).
• Many students return to their family homes for the summer break, so they expect a reduction in rent in July, August and September, which may mean lower earnings during that time.

How can you protect yourself against the negative consequences of renting an apartment to students?

Every solution has some drawbacks, and some risk associated with renting out an apartment cannot be avoided. But let's look at the situation from the other side. Students also take a risk when renting an apartment – just as you can end up with a dishonest or problematic tenant, they can end up with a dishonest or troublesome landlord.

The apartment owner can protect their interests with appropriate provisions in the lease agreement and in any attachments:

• You can ask prospective tenants to show their employment contract, if they have one. If they don't work, it is worth asking for their parents' contact details, so the parents can confirm that they will finance the rent every month.
• Drawing up a very detailed handover report (protokół zdawczo-odbiorczy) listing every item of furnishing and equipment and its condition. When the apartment is returned a year or several years later, both parties will have a document confirming the condition of the apartment at the start of the lease.
• It is worth protecting yourself by collecting a security deposit and stating that any losses or damage found when the apartment is returned will be deducted from it.
• The agreement can include provisions requiring tenants to observe quiet hours, prohibiting loud parties, or prohibiting pets in the apartment.
• Increasingly, you will also find a clause about refreshing and cleaning the apartment or room before moving out. You can include a provision that when moving out of the apartment or room, the walls should be refreshed by repainting them in the same color as the current one. In addition, a thorough deep cleaning is required. Otherwise, the amount needed to refresh and clean the interior will be deducted from the security deposit.
• Always, even in the case of an apartment we live in ourselves, we should insure the apartment for civil liability (OC).

How much profit can you make by renting to students?

You can settle with tenants either with one all-inclusive amount covering rent, building fees and utilities (e.g. PLN 700 for a single room and PLN 600 for a double room), or collect the rent and building fees (e.g. PLN 500 for a single room and PLN 400 for a double room) and leave paying the bills to the students. However, the first option is safer, because the owner can be sure that the tenants will not fall behind on payments.

Let's assume the landlord owns a 48 m2 apartment. It consists of 2 rooms (20m2 and 13m2), a hallway, a bathroom with a toilet and a kitchen (10m2). The apartment is suitable for renting to 3 people. Let the person living in the single room pay PLN 800 per month, and the two people in the double room PLN 600 each. Together that is a monthly income of PLN 2,000. From this you need to subtract the building fees (about PLN 600), internet (about PLN 50) and other charges such as electricity or gas (PLN 200). This gives a monthly income of PLN 1,150.

The larger the apartment, the better the neighborhood and the better it is furnished, the higher the potential monthly earnings.