England 12/08/2013 – One of the biggest problems UK university students face is access to good quality and affordable accommodation, and this year it will be no different.
For two years running the number of UK students applying for university places has fallen. In 2011, only 145,000 people had applied for a university place by mid November. The year before 180,000 had done so. In 2012, the figures were even lower, with only 120,000 young British citizens applying for a university place. Whether this downward trend will continue, remains to be seen. However, there is one issue that will remain, even if admissions continue to fall away. This year, as in the past, students in many university towns will struggle to find affordable accommodation that is close enough to their university.
The cost of accommodation in virtually every UK university town has continued to soar following the general upward trend of the cost of renting a property in the UK. Because there is so much demand for rented accommodation in many areas students are being squeezed out of the local property market. Most landlords would rather rent their properties out to families rather than to students, so even in areas of university cities that students can afford there is less accommodation actually available for them.
Some university cities have recognised the problem and have plans to build new student accommodation. Glasgow is set to get 700 student flats, accommodation for 1,000 students is planned for Newcastle and 230 flats are planned for Norwich students. However, in many cities the new accommodation has yet to receive planning approval. Even in cities where new student accommodation is being built there will be shortages, all of these developments are only at the planning stage, so it will be a year or two before they are finished and available.
The solution for today’s students
Increasingly students are turning to specialist student accommodation firms like Downing Students. For more than 25 years, they have been developing and managing affordable accommodation that is specifically designed for students. They currently have over £500 million of mixed use schemes under development, so are playing their part in bridging the gap.