Academic Year
Academic Year
- Academic years usually run from July to June each year.
- Most students start their first day during September, but this varies from course to course and also between educational establishments.
- Students arrive at their rented accommodation between July and September.
- An academic year is split into academic terms - usually three - four if including Summer term.
- The timing of these academic terms is vital when seeking or providing accommodation.
- If a prospective tenant approaches a letting agent for accommodation with a term starting in September, but ending three months later, then this should cause alarm bells to ring for agents and landlords. Why? Because at the end of this short tenancy, letting agents in Canterbury will not easily be able to re-let that accommodation to conventional students, whose academic year ends in June. The number of non-conventional students who might rent from January to June is so small, a void would be likely. So "the bird in the hand" in this instance is not "better than the two in the bush". Better to leave the accommodation vacant and wait until a conventional student arrives to remain for the whole year. This is not to say, however, that you should never accept students 'out of time'. There may be commercial reasons why such a decision might occasionally be prudent. Should the same student arrive in February and only wish to rent until May, then a letting agent might consider that this is a reasonable compromise, since the property might otherwise remain unoccupied until June. Prudent landlords and letting agents keep records enabling comparisons with past and future months and years; supply and demand, together with observations in market trends, as well as political and economic factors, all inform decision making and improve letting success when analysed.
- If a tenant leaves before the end of the academic year, in January for example, it will be very difficult to find a replacement. This is because most students have already found accommodation for the whole academic year. This topic is also related to Dropouts.
- Note:
- The proposed Renters Reform Bill is likely to impact the lettings market. There will no longer be a legal fixed-term tennacy, so atempting to allign an academic term with a tenancy-term will no longer be certain for other than purpose built student acccommodation providers. under the proposals student tenants will be free to walk away from a tenancy mid academic-year. Unable to grant a replacement tenancy to substitute tenants, landlords will be unable to afford such voids and are expected t exit the student market. The reason landlords are unable to let to substitute tenants is related to the number of months remaining until the start of the following academic year commences. If a new group of students have already reserved the same house for the following year then logically the landlord must be certain of vacant possession to enable the new tenancy. To risk, or to allow the possibility of, an overlapping tennacy would constitute negligence and likely result in a legal dispute. This could happen if the landlord is unable to evict the existing tenants, should they decide to remain preventing the new tenant's occupation. Add to this dilema the rules on notice periods and the problem is worsened. Presently tenants cannot end a tenancy early without their landlrod's agreement. The landlord must give two months notice to end a tenancy (but not during the first four months of a tenancy). The practical realities of renting may in future prove unfeasible. The legislators have completely ignored such considerations.
Published: 21 October 2013 Last Updated: 14 July 2025