I am very new to this, and was wondering, what information i would need in order to do such a thing, for example...

How many weeks does a student rent
How does council tax work
What insurance do i need

and the rest...

Any information would be great.

A very good place to look for lots of info on letting, etc is:
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk

student lets can be all 52 weeks of the year and if this is the case, usually landlords offer half price rent over the summer months (june to september) if the property is unoccupied. and if the student stays for the summer they continue to pay full rent. Contracts usually start in this case in June or July and last for a year giving the student a chance to move in in early september before the uni term starts and time at the end to vacate the property.
alternatively, lets can run from september to june (about 9 months).

Students do not pay council tax, if the house is occupied by students only then none of the occupants will pay council tax. However, if any of the tenants are non-students, the house will be billed for full council tax. Each of the students in the house can then claim for exemption which for each student knocks 25% of the bill. So if there is a house of 3 students and 1 non-student, the council tax bill will be reduced by 75% leaving the one non-student a bill of 25% of the original amount. To qualify for exemption, the students must send sheffield city council proof of registration on their course from the uni.

Each of the students in the house can then claim for exemption which for each student knocks 25% of the bill. So if there is a house of 3 students and 1 non-student, the council tax bill will be reduced by 75% leaving the one non-student a bill of 25% of the original amount. To qualify for exemption, the students must send sheffield city council proof of registration on their course from the uni. [/B]


I don't think this is accurate. I am a private landlord and when I rang the council to ask about students and non-students sharing they said that it does not matter how many students are in the property, if one professional is sharing with students then the bill is reduced by 25% and if there are 2 or more then 100% is payable.

Regarding students and rent - it is up to the landlord whether he/she charges full rent thru' the summer. I do because my properties are let to students or professionals and I couldn't afford to let to students if I reduced the rent. I suppose if a landlord bought years ago and a had small mortgage then it is more likely.

Insurance is easily sorted on the internet. Landlord insurance is what you need but it costs more for students than for professionals.

well we've just sorted our council tax and they told us 25% discount per student, then the rest is left to the non-students in the house to pay.

all the landlords I've had so far have charged half price rent through the summer unless we were living there for that time.

That's an interesting development. Which office of the Council did you speak to?

Vision is correct - it is a 25% discount if there is 1 non-student, but no discount if there is more than 1.

It doesn't work on a % per student basis - otherwise if it was a 5 room house with 4 students - it would not be 4x25% = 100% discount. It would just be the 25% discount.

yep-

If you are the only council-tax eligible adult in the house you pay 75% yourself. If there are two or more you pay 100% between you.

Slight side issue but- as what is a "professional" , as opposed to a student?

Do you mean someone with a job or is it more complicated? What I mean is, if you work in a warehouse or summat are you classed as a professional or is it office type folk only?

Just curious...

in this case we are talking about any employed person. referred to as a 'proffessional' because there are a lot of young proffessionals renting at the moment :)