According to a new survey, the cost of renting halls of residence for university students has increased by 60% in the last decade, averaging at £7,347. This cost has exceeded the amount covered by an average student maintenance loan. The survey, which considered nearly 500,000 beds in student halls, indicated that rents have been steadily increasing. Prices were found to be 4.4% higher than last year and 16% higher than before the pandemic. As a result, many students are forced to find part-time work, live at home, or receive financial support from family members to afford the increased fees. The average maintenance loan is £6,900 and is intended to cover living expenses as well.
The report, published by the National Union of Students and charity Unipol, raises concerns about rapidly rising rental costs for student accommodation, which are increasing at a higher rate than inflation. There is a growing trend of a scarcity of affordable student accommodation options, with dwindling choice, as private hall providers have emphasised offering luxury studio flats targeted towards international students, rather than affordable alternatives.
London stands out as the capital with the highest unaffordability factor for students, with average rents at £10,857, which is 61% higher than the average for the rest of the UK. Hillary Gyebi-Ababio, the Vice-President for Higher Education at the National Union of Students (NUS), emphasised that the increasing cost of student accommodation is unacceptable and affects students’ educational experiences. The report also highlights how universities increasingly rely on profit-seeking private providers, who operate 70% of the beds surveyed.
The report indicates that private providers’ bed spaces are almost 24% more expensive than those provided by universities. Private providers do not consider what students can afford but base their prices on competitor pricing strategies, widening the gap between university owned and private provider rents. For instance, the report discovered that university self-catered rooms cost an average of £5157, £5985 for private housing contracted by the university, and £7264 for completely private halls.
The NUS report calls on universities to keep a closer watch on the rents charged by private halls, focus on offering affordable accommodation options, which are on the decline, increase support for disadvantaged students’ housing bursaries. The report also warns that the trend of increasing private providers’ bedspaces is not likely to end soon, given their performance in the property market. The number of bed spaces offered by private providers increased from 142,439 in 2012-2013 to 361,717 in 2021-2022.
