-Student Housing Property Management: 7 Powerful Tips to Streamline Operations

The purpose-built student housing sector attracted 5.7 billion U.S. dollars worth of investments in 2023. Student housing assets offer investors stable income streams. Yet they also provide those responsible for student housing property management with unique challenges.

However, that should not temper your desire to offer the best in class customer service in the student housing property management market. Discover how to make your student housing management journey a success, with these tips to improve your operational efficiencies.

Understanding Student Housing Management

On the surface, student housing properties appear to have much in common with multi-family properties. However, veterans of the student housing property market know that, whether on or off-campus, every purpose-built student housing property is fundamentally different from other rental properties.

Unlike apartment complexes and other multifamily properties, student housing buildings are designed with students’ needs in mind.

Student Housing vs. Multi-Family Properties

The students have contained housing units within one building and the shared use of certain amenities. That is where the similarity to traditional multi-family properties ends.

Student housing properties are furnished or semi-furnished, on or close to campus facilities, and have amenities that students find convenient and/or appealing. Student housing properties also typically have a layout that encourages interaction with other students.

This can make them more challenging to manage than other properties and therefore require specific strategies.

Student Housing Management Challenges: 7 Strategies to Win

In our experience, managing student housing is more than just property management, but also an investment in the potential of our youth. The quality of student accommodation services you provide students with today will make a significant impact on these future leaders of tomorrow.

It’s a fine balance between meeting owners' and investors’ expectations, and providing students with supportive accommodation services they’ll love. Rise to meet these challenges, with these winning student housing management strategies.

1. Address Student Renters Where They Spend Their Time: On Smartphones

Watch any group of university students or college students walk by, and you will notice them glued to their smartphones. It’s an increasingly digital world. Students get news, entertainment, and social interactions on their mobile devices. These digital platforms also provide round-the-clock access to learning resources.

Strategy

We recommend you address student renters where they spend their time — on their smartphones. That is why the first step is to design a resident app. Here they can view other rooms available, read important notices, book maintenance services, or even request repairs.

2. Nurture Community Interactions

The student housing environment is an extension of campus life and the college experience. Bear this in mind to raise engagement with your student properties. Nurture the student community’s interactions and you will offer a more positive resident experience for all students.

Strategy

Create a safe space for young adults to live, study, and socialize. Allow enough space for student-only recreation on the grounds. Install security features like controlled access gates/doors and security cameras to give students peace of mind, and check these regularly.

3. Plan for Frequent Change of Residents

The reality of supply and demand in student housing cannot be ignored.

Certain regions in the United States have limited available student housing for their expanding student populations. Therefore, if you meet the need for student housing in such areas, you should have no problem attracting students. Especially when their needs are efficiently and affordably met.

That being said, one of the hallmarks of student housing is that there is a frequent change of residents.

Therefore, those at the helm of student housing management services must ensure that each cycle of students receives value from their tenancy, despite the high turnover. This will show that the management values each student resident, regardless of their length of stay.

Strategy

Plan for this frequent change of student residents. Use rental property inspection software that allows residents to do their own pre-moving-out inspections. There are several options online, many of which offer not only photograph and video attachments but also auto-generated inspection reports.

This allows you to stay on track with the condition of student properties despite the constant reshuffling of students. It will help you meet owners' and investors‘ expectations for property maintenance and increase resident satisfaction, as each new wave of students moves into a well-kept space.

4. Digitize the Payment Process

Property management services across the board are shifting to digital payment systems. These systems are highly efficient and also convenient. That is why most student housing property management companies implement digital payments for student residents.

Strategy

To make an easy payment structure available to the entire resident population, offer more than one payment method. Enable quick and easy digital payments directly from the residents’ app, if possible. This will save the students and your team a lot of time.

5. Automate Your Administrative Tasks

Leasing student housing and managing student properties entails countless hours of repetitive and tedious admin. This is true for all property management services companies, of course. Unless you embrace technology and automate all of your administrative tasks.

Strategy

You can save yourself, and your team, a lot of time and effort by automating your more repetitive tasks. The time saved can be put to better use for handling more urgent property management responsibilities.

Choose property management software that integrates with your existing digital tools. Almost all property management services can be automated, from scheduling appointments with prospective residents to paying service providers.

6. Leverage Digital Tools to Manage Utilities

Today’s students are more discerning. They are looking for purpose-built student housing with amenities like swimming pools and fitness centers.

Pay attention to this need to provide extra value, and students will want to remain in your accommodation (a key lever in the steady occupancy rates as evident in our 2024-2025 student housing market report).

However, there are far less glamorous and more urgent issues than these useful yet non-essential amenities. We are referring to utilities, which are essential services such as electricity, gas, water, and sanitation (sewage disposal and refuse removal).

Strategy

As with any property management services, student housing management requires efficient handling of these utilities. Include utility signups and a portal for requests/complaints on the resident group app. Use the same digital portal to notify residents about upcoming maintenance and repairs on water or gas lines.

7. Prioritize Sustainability

Environmental issues are close to the hearts of many young people today. This is no surprise, as sustainability has become a hot topic in virtually every sphere of modern society.

The construction industry now incorporates sustainability principles into most new building projects. Investors keen on reducing the environmental footprint of their investment decisions will be swayed by a dedication to “green” property management.

So, what can you do to further prioritize sustainability in your student housing property management?

Strategy

Commit to sustainability and conservation and you will establish a good relationship with investors as well as the student population. There are many ways to do this.

For instance, negotiate with owners to invest in energy-efficient systems and, where possible, renewable energy systems like solar panels. Install rain and greywater collection tanks for irrigation. Encourage recycling amongst the students on the property with easily accessible, clearly marked recycling bins.

Conclusion

In student housing property management, owners demand efficient management, property managers crave more convenience in their workflows, and students require safety and comfort. These student housing property management strategies meet all these needs.

However, the student housing sector is highly dynamic. College House understands this. Our data-driven analytics and actionable insights will help you keep your finger on the pulse of the student housing market.

Schedule a call or book a demo today to tap into the world of student housing data in action.