Whether you are looking to purchase your first investment property or you are a landlord with a rental property portfolio, owning a student rental property might just be a good investment. Over the years, investing or owning a student rental house had a negative stigma as many potential investors viewed it as high maintenance home which turns into frat party. Although parties, friends and get togethers are likely to occur there remain positives to owning student rentals.
Strength in Numbers
Student populations at universities are large and continue to grow, refer to the chart below to see the estimated attendance population per university in Ontario as of August 2014. The large number of students attending universities across Ontario means increased potential in number of renters.
| OCUL Universities | Full Time Equivalent |
| Algoma | 1,340 |
| RMC | 1,897 |
| OCAD | 4,117 |
| Nipissing | 5,188 |
| Trent | 7,609 |
| UOIT | 8,164 |
| Laurentian | 8,393 |
| Lakehead | 8,552 |
| Windsor | 15,083 |
| Brock | 16,574 |
| Wilfrid Laurier | 17,246 |
| Queen’s | 23,049 |
| Carleton | 24,161 |
| Guelph | 25,948 |
| McMaste | 27,518 |
| Ryerson | 30,665 |
| Waterloo | 33,555 |
| Western | 36,203 |
| Ottawa | 37,227 |
| York | 48,809 |
| Toronto | 76,954 |
| Total | 458,251 |
Other Benefits of Owning a Student Rental
Being a student landlord is a very niche part of the real estate rental market, which requires particular skills and unique approach to handling your rental. Owning a student rental may require having it licensed and following particular bylaws of your local municipality. This is to meet proper fire codes and accommodation standards. That being said, student rentals can be a good for your overall property portfolio, here’s why:
- Your student rental may typically be able to accommodate more renters than let’s say a single family rented dwelling which means increased rents
- The seasonal nature of a student rental makes demand more predictable: students will start looking for accommodation starting usually in January-March and sign leases for the upcoming school year
- Students tend to be more relaxed than a professional tenant, that is to say they might be ok with the rainbow colored bathroom whereas a professional tenant may be more attentive to the design. That is not to say that a properties should lack maintenance but it does mean constant design updates are not as necessary.
- Students can have their parents co-sign lease to guarantee rent, often times parents will pay the rent in advance or with post dated cheques which is less run around for you, the landlord.
- Most university websites provide an easy to use online space for landlords to post their available property, so that you do not have to create multiple advertisements on different platforms