75% of PBSA beds snapped up for the autumn term

The struggles for students to find somewhere to live while at university look set to continue with news that 75% of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) has already been snapped up for the next academic year.

The findings from Stripe Property Group highlight how tight the supply of PBSA beds is in the top 50 university towns and cities in the UK.

The company researched the demand for student accommodation to find where first-year students would have the most difficulty in securing accommodation.

University of York most in demand for student accommodation

The University of York is the most in-demand university when it comes to student rental accommodation and in the YO10 postcode, 75% of all PBSA rental stock has already been taken up.

Second on the list is the University of Strathclyde, where 73% of all student rentals have already been let. Further south, the BA2 postcode, which is home to the University of Bath, more than half (54%) of PBSA beds has been taken.

Queen Mary University of London in the E1 postcode of Tower Hamlets in London is home to the highest student demand in the capital, where 42% of all PSBA rentals have been taken.

Demand is currently at 39% for the WC2A and WC2R postcodes which are home to the London School of Economics and King’s College London. In Birmingham’s B4 postcode, 40% of PBSA beds have been let to those attending Aston University.

The rest of the top 10 of most in-demand universities for PBSA homes include Shropshire’s Harper Adams University (35%), the University of Essex (32%) and the University of Glasgow (20%).

Students struggle to find accommodation

James Forrester, the managing director of Stripe Property Group, said: “We can appreciate that there’s always going to be high demand for a spot at one of the nation’s best universities, but the burning issue of student accommodation availability is one that is impacting students the length and breadth of the nation.

“As our research shows, over 70% of currently listed student rental stock has already been taken surrounding some universities and we’re yet to see the deadline for UCAS applications expire.

“This really highlights the uphill struggle facing many students when it comes to securing a suitable roof over their heads.”

He added; “The private rental sector does help to pick up some of the slack and there are some outstanding PBSA focussed developers out there working tirelessly to bring new stock to the market, but more needs to be done to bridge the gap between the student homes available and the level we require.”