Dundee University is on the hunt for new landlords to provide accommodation for more than 100 students arriving in the new year.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic saw many students travel home to live with their families as campuses shut at the start of lockdown.
It resulted in a number of properties being left empty and many landlords found alternative tenants.
Now Dundee University is launching a drive to connect with new landlords in the city to prepare for the influx of international students in 2022.
Graham Nicholson, director of student services, told The Courier: The pandemic saw a lot of landlords sadly going out of business or lettings to non-student lets or selling properties.
“But there’s still a huge core of landlords out there keen to come back to the student letting market.
“This is not a Dundee issue, this is a UK-wide issue as the pandemic obviously saw lots of students retreating from their universities, going home and cancelling their leases, leaving a number of landlords searching for other tenants – and we understand that.”
Despite being able to find suitable accommodation for the vast majority of students who arrived in September, the university will welcome more in January as the new semester begins.
Graham said: “We are expecting good numbers of home and international students coming to the university afresh in January.
“We’re talking to agents and private hall providers but we’re keen to talk to private landlords as well just to say: ‘If you’ve got a flat coming up or you want to talk to us about letting opportunities, get in touch and welcome back.’
“We would argue that students, from a landlord’s perspective, make quite good tenants because it’s for sort of a finite let normally.
“That allows landlords the opportunity after a couple of years to go back into the property and refresh it.
“Students are contactable through the university in a sense as well, so that’s a backup if, in an emergency, the landlord needed to get in contact with someone.”
Why are students good for Dundee?
Dundee University’s student services has been working closely with DUSA to support students in finding suitable accommodation.
Graham believes that students help build the economy in Dundee, meaning that providing places to live can also have a great benefit for the city.
He added: “I think the university makes a major contribution to the trade of the city.
“Students are heavy shoppers usually, they’re out creating a good, healthy student demand whether in hairdressers, cafes, restaurants and bars.
“In addition to their benefit to the economy, they also make Dundee what it is, which is a welcoming, cosmopolitan, international city and Dundee people are renowned for their welcome of all sorts of nationalities.”
University bosses are also keen to highlight the letting website Student Pads to prospective landlords – and have asked anyone who is keen to get involved to email isac@dundee.ac.uk.
