Students come last in flat rental pecking order

And students are the bottom-feeders in the rental pecking order, according to the latest EasyRoommate research.

Renters will pay up to £100 more than the advertised rate to bag their dream pad, which automatically relegates cashstrapped students to the tail end of the queue.

Working professionals are more likely to get a flat and their employment status means landlords are willing to drop their price for what they consider to be a lesser-risk perhaps longer term let.

This is bad news for students, who are not only up against people in steady work but who may be outbid by a viewer willing to pay more.

One, 20-year-old David Kelty, originally from Dingwall in Rossshire, who eventually found his pad in Shawlands, says students are further stymied by a tortuous, drawn out and almost impossible accreditation process.

“Me and two student friends at Caledonian University viewed dozens of places across Glasgow,” said David. “We all had to get a guarantor and my mum had to jump through hoops to prove she can pay the rent if I were to default. She recently took semi-retirement so couldn’t provide projected full time employment earnings.

“They then wanted to know every detail of her pension arrangements. By this time, any flats we were looking at had long gone.

“Loads of flats we viewed were taken by the first viewer in the door.”