Student Rentals - Get co-signers or have them on a single lease

[Henry P.]

I just recently bought a duplex in London, Ontario, 10 minutes away from school. I am working on the lease agreement now and wondering if it would be more beneficial to have all the students on a single lease agreement, or have separate lease agreements with each student requiring a co-signer.

Is there any way to get best of both worlds? I don't see how a parent would co-sign for the other students in the lease agreement. 

[Kellan P.]

Hey Henry, congrats on the new duplex.

Others can chime in here, but here is my understanding of the pros/cons. You're most likely going to get the best cash flow with a by-the-bedroom lease, along with the benefit of parents co-signing. The main downside is that it could be more work dealing with more management, and possibly more frequent turnover between students. However, you should be able to achieve lower vacancy by the bedroom, since the property will probably never be 100% empty.

You're unlikely to get parents to co-sign on an entire lease that includes other students, but you could always try. Also, with a single lease agreement, you could have the potential to charge for utilities, but students are less likely to rent if it is not all-inclusive.

I'd say go by-the-bedroom. It'd be tough to get the "best of both worlds", since the best of the single-lease-world is charging utilities, and less time spent managing - neither of which are particularly compatible with a student rental property. However - others with experience renting student rentals might have advice to the contrary!

-Kellan