"The Government must amend the Bill to avoid further dismantling the student housing sector and deliver a better and more secure deal for students across the country."
- Calum MacInnes - SAPRS
With the Renters’ Rights Bill returning to Parliament yesterday, higher education and student housing representatives continue raising concerns that the Bill will reduce student housing availability and drive up living costs for students already hit by rising tuition fees.
New data commissioned by SAPRS (Student Accredited Private Rental Sector) – a coalition of second and third-year student accommodation providers across Britain – shows that 66% of the British public believe that the Government does not care about students.
As part of the Renters' Rights Bill, the government plans to end fixed-term tenancy agreements for private student housing. Higher education organisations like Universities UK and the Higher Education Policy Institute have warned that such a move would threaten the availability, affordability, and quality of student housing which is already at a crisis point.
In a further warning to the Government, the data shows that 54% of the British public believe that the university sector is in a bad state. According to SAPRS, these figures highlight the public's limited confidence in the higher education sector and the government's lack of attention towards students generally.
The coalition states that student housing relies on fixed-term tenancy agreements that have successfully balanced student and landlord needs by aligning with university term times and ensuring landlords have security of tenure each year. By dismantling this model, the Bill risks reducing housing availability, creating uncertainty for students and disrupting a well-functioning rental market.
Amendments to preserve fixed-term tenancies for the sector in the Bill were rejected by the Government.
This is in the context of widespread support for changes to the Bill by higher education and student housing organisations. A negative precedent was set in Scotland, where as a result of similar legislation the student housing crisis has significantly worsened.
Student housing shortfall
StuRents already predicts a 490,000-bed student housing shortfall by 2026. This is coupled with a recent Government survey of landlords which shows that 48% were unwilling to let to students even without the Bill which will further disincentivise landlords from letting to students.
SAPRS warns that if the Bill is not changed, the Government risks alienating students – an important group of voters for the Labour Party who will already be hit by the rise in tuition fees Keir Starmer announced recently. This is supported by the views of 51% of the British public who believe that the increase in tuition fees will lead to fewer young people attending university.
“This research illustrates the widespread concern about the state of the higher education system, of which the supply and cost of attending and living at university plays a central role," said Calum MacInnes, Chair at SAPRS, adding "The Government must amend the Bill to avoid further dismantling the student housing sector and deliver a better and more secure deal for students across the country."
