How to convert your student property to a family let
The rental market has felt the impact of Covid-19 especially, with the announcement of some universities moving some of their courses online. To help adjust to these changes, James Douglas has provided some advice on how to convert your student property into a family let. It is important to note that this will most likely be a more permanent solution as the change of use means the HMO status would need to be reapplied for if you ever wanted to return to the student market. Below are some suggestions to help you get your property ready for a family let.
1.Changing rooms
In a student HMO property, it is likely that the lounge of the front living room was converted to a bedroom. If you are now trying to appeal to families, it is worth altering the use of this room back to a lounge and keeping the bedrooms upstairs. Families will not require this bedroom and freeing this up for a communal lounge area will help attract families.
2.Planning permission
For a student let, you would have most likely had to obtain a HMO license and planning permission to rent out as a HMO. If you are now changing the use from a HMO to a family let, you will automatically convert the use from a C4 to a C3 property. If you wanted to then advertise to students the following year, you would have to reapply for planning permission for C4 use. Permission is granted based on the amount of other HMO’s in the area and we believe that permission in heavily student occupied areas like Treforest, Cathays and Roath may be denied with the objective of reducing overconcentration of students. Therefore, renting to a family may have to be a more permanent strategy in some cases.
3.Remove student furniture.
Whilst it may be useful to keep a study or a couple of desks in the property, it is probably overkill to have one in each room. Free up some space and remove some of the desks, whilst keeping one or two in the property as people look to work from home.
4.Garden appeal
Usually, gardens are overlooked in a student property, however, if you are now appealing to families it is most likely they’ll want some outdoor space. Try making this child-friendly, perhaps even including some outdoor furniture, especially if advertising the property in the summer months.
Converting a HMO student property to a family let should be considered a more permanent solution for your rental. If this is something you are interested in, please contact our team today, so we can assist you with any alterations and tailoring the property to attract families.
