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Student Rentals in Niagara and You

Young woman moving into student housing
May 31, 2019

September is just a couple months away, and if your child is off to university at Brock University or Niagara College, you need to find them safe and affordable housing. Have you considered becoming your own landlord? Whether your child needs an apartment in Thorold or St. Catharines with transit available to Brock, or a single-family home in Welland near Niagara College, you can find affordable properties with a variety of amenities. Even after your child graduates, you can keep your investment by renting to other college students and allowing a property management company to handle the day-to-day management. Here are just a few of the benefits of buying student housing for your university student. 

Don't Pay Rent, Make an Investment

Paying rent for student housing means you receive a space for your child to live, however at the end of four years, your child moves out and there's nothing else to show for it. Alternatively, your child can live in an apartment or home that you own for the purpose of student housing. You'll know that they have a safe place to live and you can contribute to a long-term investment by paying the monthly mortgage, as opposed to rent.

At the end of your child's university career you still own the property. This allows you to rent the property to other students, which will also help towards paying off your mortgage.

Tax Breaks

When you own student housing that your child lives in, you can enjoy tax breaks as a landlord. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) allows rental property owners to write off a variety of items on their tax returns in connection to the property.

Some items you can write off with your taxes include:

  • insurance
  • property taxes
  • bank charges
  • capital improvements to the property
  • travel 
  • utilities
  • property management fees
  • and many others

You will need to work with an accountant to ensure that you process rental payments correctly. You might even find a roommate for your child who pays rent and helps to pay the mortgage each month. 

Large Pool of Available Renters

One thing is almost certain, there will always be new children headed off to university each year, and they're in need of housing. If you purchase a student rental for your university-bound child, you can rest assured in four years, there will be a large pool of available renters. 

You might worry about occupancy through the summer months, but many students take summer classes or take advantages of internships that keep them close to campus. You can also consider listing your rental on Airbnb during the summer months to keep income flowing in to cover the cost of the mortgage and other expenses. 

Also, you might consider renting to someone other than students. Both Brock University and Niagara College have numerous staff members, both administrative and faculty. Renting to a professor or other professional in the area can provide long-term rental-income stability. If you purchase a single-family home, it might appeal to this group more than an apartment.

Properties Appreciate in Value

A student rental that you purchase this year for your child attending university will be worth more in four years than it is today. This is especially true if you take care of the property and make some investments to improve it.

For example, if you purchase an apartment in Welland this year for $300,000, you can expect that its value will increase over the four years that your child is in university. Let's say the property appreciates by 10 percent. This means after four years, your student rental is worth $330,000. 

If you choose to keep the property and continue renting it, the value will continue to appreciate. This is one way to help grow your personal wealth, as a student rental provides additional income.

Stable Monthly Income

A student rental can provide you with a stable monthly income.

For example, you own student housing and rent it for $1,000 per month. The monthly mortgage, taxes, and insurance costs are $650 per month. If you set aside $50 a month for repairs and improvements, you have a stable monthly income of $300 just for owning the property. 

It's also beneficial to set up a significant fund when you first rent the property to cover repairs and when the property isn't occupied. Once you have a cushion, the rest provides a monthly income that you can use to pay off your household bills or put toward other investments.

Management from Afar

One concern parents may have is the distance between their rental property and place of residence. Whether you're 20 minutes or two hours away, you can use a professional property management firm to help out.

You might consider managing the property yourself when your own child lives in it. However, there are benefits of using a property management firm even then. For example, when the property needs repairs, your child or other renters call the property management firm to organize the repair. As a local entity, they know the best companies to call for a job, from price to quality.

In a university town, you can usually find a good selection of property management firms to handle all the details for you, including:

  • finding renters
  • running credit checks
  • collecting rent
  • yard work
  • repairs
  • emergency
  • security
  • and more

As one of St. Catharines’ best property management teams, Team Yifei understands the value of purchasing a student rental to save you money over paying rent for your college or university-bound children. We're happy to answer any questions you may have.