Frequently asked questions for landlords
The basics
Which housing type should I pick for my listing?
- Kot: a room, most often in a building of kots, with shared bathrooms and/or kitchen.
- Room in the owner's house: a room in the house you live in.
- Studio: a complete, private home, with its own bathroom and kitchen.
- Flatshare: ideal to rent out a room in a shared home, for instance to complete an existing flatshare.
- Flat or house: ideal when the home is rented as a whole, to one or several people.
The line is sometimes blurry. Do your best and give the details in your listing.
Should I publish one listing per housing unit?
If your units differ (rent, photos), publish one listing per unit.
Students looking for what you offer will find your listings more easily and get exact information: fewer complaints for you and simpler management.
Can I put my email or phone number in the listing?
No. To keep contacts safe, email addresses, links and phone numbers in a listing's text are removed.
Choose how you want to be contacted in your Contact info.
I don't receive your emails
Look first in your junk folder (spam) and, on Gmail, in the Promotions tab. If an email from Kotalouvain is there, mark it as "not spam": the next ones will arrive normally.
Managing your listings
How long does my listing stay online?
Your listing stays online as long as you are active on Kotalouvain. A listing published more than 8 weeks ago is taken offline if you have not logged in for 2 weeks.
How do I take a listing offline?
In your listing management area, click the "Unpublish" button next to the listing.
Your listing stays ready for next time.
If I unpublish my listing, can I keep talking with the students who contacted me?
Yes. You can unpublish your listing without worry: your conversations stay in your messaging, and you keep talking with those students as before.
How do I show that a housing unit is reserved?
When you have chosen a candidate but the rental is not confirmed yet, switch on "Under offer" in the listing's Availability tab. Students see an "Under offer" badge and a notice on the listing.
Once the lease is signed, unpublish the listing.
Visibility
How many visits does Kotalouvain get?
Kotalouvain gets about 100 000 visits a year. Two thirds of them take place between April and October.
You can see the visibility statistics of your published listings in your listing management area.
How do I make my listing more attractive?
The listings that get the most contacts have attractive photos, a clear rent and clear charges, a precise description and a fair price.
All our advice in the landlord guide: Optimising your listings and Photo tips
Which photos should I put in my listing?
Favour photos of the room and of the living areas. Put your best photo first: it is the one shown in the search results. Tidy the room and shoot in daylight.
More advice: Photo tips
Visits
How do I plan a visit?
In the messaging, once a visit date is agreed, click "Plan a visit".
You can offer a visit on site or by video.
The student receives a confirmation by email, the address of the housing and a reminder the day before.
Your visit schedule is in the My visits section.
You can change or cancel a visit, the student is notified automatically.
Are you a student? See the students' questions