Winters have been providing a highly specialised Letting and Management Service to Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) for 20 years, having been involved from the outset in the first Section 50 development in the country here in Galway.
Our experience and expertise is second to none and we are now the largest private Student Accommodation Managers in the country with in excess of 2,500 beds across 7 sites. The residencies are primely located for NUI Galway, GMIT, AIT and IT Sligo students.
We have provided consultancy services to existing and planned student developments in Galway, Dublin, Sligo, Letterkenny, Cork, Tralee and Limerick with a total bed count of 6,000.
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Our specialist understanding of PBSAs and the Irish Student Accommodation market is unmatched. We appreciate the needs and requirements that both Irish and International students have, particularly when it is their first experience living away from home. We work in tandem with the Student Accommodation & Welfare Services section of each University/IT to ensure that we make this transition as smooth as possible. In addition to providing convenient, well-appointed and maintained facilities we also try to create a home from home for the students.
After the end of the academic year in June we manage a speedy turnaround of properties to make them available for short-term bookings for the summer months. Summer bookings vary from international language students to tour/sports groups to self-catering holiday-makers. A short but busy summer window is managed efficiently, before welcoming back the students once more in September.
During the summer months landlords are free to reserve their property for their own use if they so desire, which can be coordinated through the onsite office. This will suit some who wish to make use of their own property, savouring the many delights a summer in Galway or Sligo has to offer, whilst knowing the property will be let from September to May.
Let & Managed Service
Our popular Let & Managed service ensures that landlords do not have the hassle of on call 365 days a year, 24 hours a day; who instead want a professional letting agency with comprehensive knowledge of landlord/tenancy legislation to deal directly with their tenants on their behalf.
It can be a completely hands-off service which suits many property investors, or you can take a more active interest in the property and receive more frequent updates throughout the year – the decision is up to each individual to suit their requirements.
The following services are offered under this package:
- Marketing of property through the Student Village and Winters websites.
- Carrying out as many viewings of the property as necessary to sign up tenants.
- Draw up Lease Agreements between landlord and tenants.
- Registration of the properties with the RTB and dealing with any matters arising
- Inventory management of the property.
- Collection and processing of security deposit and rent.
- Dealing directly with the Tenants, their parents and the university/IT on behalf of the property and landlord
- Schedule 24 hour on-call service to the tenants in the event of an emergency.
- Monitoring that rents are paid on time and following up on any late rents in accordance with the terms of the student lease agreement.
- Financial management of the tenancy which includes 2-3 payments (depending on the site) during the course of the academic year, along with a post-summer payment, and providing details statements of same
- Resolution of maintenance problems as they arise
- Ensure compliance to fire safety regulations in accordance with Housing Regulations Act 2008 and compliance with Housing (Standards For Rented Houses) Regulations 2019.
- Carry out periodical inspections to ensure that the tenants are taking good care of your property.
- Conduct a final inspection of the property following the departure of your tenants. Engage various contractors to bring the property up to standard for summer letting, administer the refund of the tenants’ security deposits.
The Benefits of a Collective Letting Structure
Our Student Villages operate under a Collective Letting Structure – all properties are marketed as a group rather than on an individual basis and the total rental income is apportioned amongst all properties on a per-bedspace basis.
The benefits of operating under this structure include:
- The Student Village as a single entity generates a well established reputation as high quality, easily accessible student accommodation with a single management structure.
- For that reason it is highly regarded by the affiliated university/IT.
- The Student Village layout gives it a “campus feel”, making it popular with students.
- The capital value of properties will be better protected by one service provider servicing one customer entity.
- The high level of security through our engagement of onsite staff during office hours and security personnel available 24/7 is recognised and welcomed by the affiliated university/IT.
- The all-inclusive package is a key selling point to students. Students pay a deposit, service charge fee and rental moiety which removes any management of monthly utility bills, and they have an onsite office to refer all problems to.
- In the event of a student dropping out before full fees are paid and a replacement is not found the cost of this is shared evenly amongst all landlords rather than by just one. For example, if the 2nd Moiety payment for a single room is €2,500, this is a significant sum for a landlord to lose out on if a student drops out and the room cannot be resold. However, it could work out at as little as €20 per landlord in collective letting structure. That said, we operate most of our villages at 99.5% occupancy on average year to year but unfortunately there are a few cancellations each year.
Services provided onsite include:
- High-speed WiFi
- Fully fitted properties with a full stock of household inventory
- Maintenance Service with online reporting
- Onsite reception and laundry facilities (in 5 of the 7 sites)
- Security presence onsite with a 24/7 contact number
- Online account with rent/bill management
- Free parking and bicycle storage
- Open spaces and well-maintained grounds
Martin Gill
General Manager
Student Accommodation
Martin has worked in the property sector since joining Winters in 2003. He initially worked in Residential and Commercial Property Management, before moving over to Student Accommodation Letting and Management in 2010. He has also been heavily involved in Business Development, tendering for new projects in both Property Management and Student Accommodation depts. Martin holds a B.Comm from NUIG and is licensed by the PSR.
Awards
At the 2016 Facilities Management Awards our Student Accommodation Department took home the award for ‘FM Project of the Year – Residential” for our work in rejuvenating a struggling student accommodation site that had recently fallen into receivership.
In 2018 our Student Accommodation Department was awarded the ‘Specialist FM Service Provider of the Year’ at the FM awards for our excellent work in that field.
Most recently we have once again been nominated for ‘Specialist FM Service Provider of the Year 2021’, with the awards ceremony due to be held later this year.
If you would like to schedule a call or virtual walk-through of our Student Accommodation, contact Martin Gill on 091-771935, or contact any of the village offices directly on the links above.
