Private student lets 'teach people about being a good tenant'

Living in private rented accommodation gives students time to learn important life skills and possibly become better tenants in the future, an industry expert has said.

Cooper Healey, the manager of Manchester Student Homes, said that living in private rented property, as opposed to in university-run halls, helped students learn to be "independent".

She added: "Just that feeling of being responsible for your actions within your property and it is part of the process that young adults go through.

"It is important that students gain an understanding during their time at university of what it is to be a young adult, a responsible person, living in the community, having legally binding documents [and] setting up contracts with suppliers.

Ms Healey added that it was important that students learnt about letting properties early, so that they can become "well-rounded individuals".

Recent research showed that around a quarter of tenants were yet to learn about being a good tenant, as they said they would lie to their landlord about their job or income in order to secure a property.

Figures from moneysupermarket.com also indicated that 2.2 million tenants in the UK leave rental properties with outstanding utility bills.