The build-to-rent furnishing experts surveyed 1,000 current and former students and found that while an overwhelming 94% of generally felt safe while staying within university or privately owned student halls, there is room for improvement in some areas.
According to the findings, 28% of respondents did state they found the ability of non-residents to gain access to the building concerning, with 23% also worried that there was often no one immediately on hand to help in the event of a problem or emergency.
18% also felt the property could be more secure to prevent non-residents from gaining access, while the ability for residents of their block to gain easy access to other floors was also a worry.
When it came to the wider area in which their halls were located, the main concerns for 28% were the fact that their accommodation was hard to reach via public transport at night and that it was also in a more secluded part of town.
In terms of general university life, initially living with flatmates they had never met before was the main concern for 47%, while 34% were also worried about living away from family and friends for the first time.
Farhan Malik, CEO of Manor Interiors, commented: “For most of us, university is our first real experience of living independently and so there’s always going to be a degree of worry associated with this time in our lives.
"Despite this, it’s reassuring to see that the vast majority of students feel safe when living in their university halls. However, concerns remain and so it’s important that we continue to consider location, existing local infrastructure, design, security, access and many more factors when it comes to the design and construction of PBSA projects.
"Now more than ever the safety of students needs to be of the utmost importance and this should be placed above all else during every phase of the PBSA construction life cycle.”
