"Whilst some cities do offer a greater abundance of student lets versus others, it’s important that students really hit the ground running when it comes to their search for accommodation and by making themselves rent-ready, they can get ahead of the competition"
- Adam Piggot - OpenBrix
Analysis of student numbers by tlyfe shows that in 2012/12, when the government tripled the tuition fee cap, the number of students opting to pursue higher education fell by 13% versus the previous year.
In fact, it was the first year when this figure slipped below the one million threshold where it also remained in 2013/14 (995,850).
However, since then, student numbers have been increasing consistently each year and the latest figures for 2022/23 show that 1.365m students opted to go to university.
Whilst news of a tuition fee increase won’t be welcomed by students, the increase is marginal and unlikely to dent the high demand for student rental properties.
Further analysis by tlyfe has revealed which major university cities provide tenants with the best chance of securing a student rental property, based on the number of current student lets listed on the market as a percentage of total rental market listings.
The research shows that across Britain, around a third (31%) of all rental properties listed in the current market are targeted at students.
However, across some major university cities, student lets account for a far greater proportion of current market stock.
Nowhere more so than in Newcastle where student lets currently account for a huge 78% of available rental properties.
Newcastle is closely followed by Nottingham where student rentals make up 76% of current market stock, with Leeds also ranking within the top three at 72%.
Across a further seven major British university cities, student lets account for over half of all available rental stock.
London is home to the smallest proportion of student lets at 5%.
CEO of OpenBrix, Adam Pigott, commented: “Whilst the tripling of university fees in 2012 led to an initial decline in student numbers, we’re now seeing more students head to university on an annual basis than we have in almost twenty years.
"As a result, competition for student accommodation is fierce and whilst student lets now form around a third of the entire rental market, there remains a serious shortage of homes available to students.
"Whilst some cities do offer a greater abundance of student lets versus others, it’s important that students really hit the ground running when it comes to their search for accommodation and by making themselves rent-ready, they can get ahead of the competition.
"The good news is that help is on hand and we’ve designed the first platform in tlyfe that can help you get truly ‘rent-ready’, allowing you to secure a property at the click of a button.
"We utilise independent verified data to validate tenant ID, Right to Rent, and rental affordability, which a landlord, agent or PBSA provider can download via a sharable code. If the property is ready to move in, the tenant can then sign the contract and secure the property on the spot.”
