Case study 05 · Student accommodation
Keeping a student housing portfolio clean, dry and lettable
Scheduled window cleaning, gutter clearance and communal exterior upkeep across Sami Property’s student accommodation in Leicester and Loughborough — with the whole portfolio turned around before every September intake.
About the client
Sami Property lets and manages student accommodation close to the universities in Leicester and Loughborough — a mix of houses and purpose-built blocks with high tenant turnover every summer.
The brief
Student lets are judged on viewing day and inspected at every changeover. Dirty glass, overflowing gutters and grubby bin stores cost lettings and generate complaints, but chasing several trades across dozens of addresses is a full-time job nobody in a lettings office has. Sami Property wanted one contractor to keep the outside of every property presentable on a schedule, and to turn the whole portfolio around in the summer gap.
What we do
- Scheduled window cleaning across the portfolio, 4 to 8-weekly, with frames, sills and communal entrance glass included
- Gutter clearance twice a year with photo evidence of every run and outlet — the single biggest cause of damp complaints in older student houses
- Communal exterior upkeep: bin stores, paths, steps and entrance canopies pressure washed; moss and weeds treated
- End-of-tenancy exterior turnaround in July and August so every property is viewing-ready for September
- Access arranged through the lettings office; tenants notified by text the day before, no keys required for external work
- One schedule and one invoice per month, itemised by address for the property accounts
Working around tenants
Student houses are lived in around the clock, so we work from the ground with pure-water poles, never ladders against bedroom windows, and keep visits to daytime hours. Where a block has a fob-controlled courtyard or bin store, we hold access on the lettings office’s terms and sign in and out.
The result
Fewer maintenance calls about leaks and blocked gutters, properties that photograph well for listings, and a lettings team that has one number to call for the outside of every building. Because every visit is reported by address with photos, the evidence is already there if a deposit or landlord query comes up.
Landlords, agents & block managers
Manage a portfolio of lets or blocks?
We’ll survey the properties, price per address and set a schedule that fits your changeover dates.