The latest figures from student accommodation platform, UniHomes, reveal the northern cities of Newcastle, Leeds and Sheffield are seeing the highest demand among students searching for accommodation, a ranking they achieved last year. Meanwhile, the coastal cities of Swansea and Southampton have both jumped up the rankings to make up the top five.
Phil Greaves, director at UniHomes, said: “There are two dominant drivers underpinning student accommodation trends this year. Following the pandemic there has been a surge in demand by students to get the full university experience and the opportunities it provides, even amid the cost of living crisis. But with limited student budgets and rising living costs, students are having to be savvier to find suitable accommodation.”
“With the letting season for the next academic year now fully underway, we expect to see more students ‘shopping around’ for the most affordable homes. While many students prefer to stay on in their uni flats each year, the cost of living is making it much more likely people will move around to find more affordable rents.”
The top 10 locations by enquiries
1: Newcastle
2: Leeds
3: Sheffield
4: Swansea
5: Southampton
6: Hull
7: Bath
8: Nottingham
9: Derby
10: Norwich
Anthony Hart, Partner at Allsop, said: “While some local authorities have allowed too many schemes to be built in their areas too quickly and some not being suitable for the student demand, others have let stringent and outdated policies hold back development, creating real undersupply issues. Meanwhile, councils across the board are preventing new houses in multiple occupation – the classic student set-up – which is further making it difficult for students to find a home.
“We need a balanced approach to create a more sustainable student accommodation environment that works for everyone. Local authorities understandably prefer protecting houses for owner-occupiers, so the burden of tackling the student housing crisis will largely fall on delivering new purpose-built student accommodation. This development needs to consider the location and the community, as well as meeting demands of student growth without saturating the market. Ultimately planning policy needs to offer a degree of flexibility.”
