Scotland’s PBSA is ‘unfit for purpose’

Scotland’s PBSA is ‘unfit for purpose’

10:12 AM, 7th February 2023, About A year ago 4

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Students in Scotland are being forced to live in unsafe purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and a rent freeze should be reintroduced, a new report reveals.

The National Union of Students in Scotland (NUS) claims that students are being forced to live in unsafe, unfinished buildings and some student tenants could not access water for up to 96 hours.

Other students struggled to find a home for several months and were forced to live in hostels or sleep on friends’ sofas.

Now, the union is calling for a student housing guarantee which will ensure there is adequate housing for every student accepted at university.

Rent increases in Scotland

The union says that student rents have risen by 34% between 2018 and 2021, whilst financial student support has only increased by 4.5%.

The report says that 26% of students could not pay their rent in full on one or more occasions.

The NUS claims that despite the rent hike, purpose-built student accommodation in Scotland is ‘unfit for purpose’.

Ellie Gomersal, the union’s president, said the Scottish Government could not ‘afford to continue on its path of inaction’.

She said: “It must quickly reinstate the rent freeze and make it so that students have the same rights as other members of society to leave unsuitable tenancies and to be protected from unfair evictions.”

In Scotland, the Cost-of-Living Tenant Protection Bill was passed into law in 2022 which suspended evictions for both the private rented and social sectors.

The legislation also brought in a rent freeze which runs until the end of March but rent rises from April will be capped at 3% – unless landlords apply to impose a higher rise.

Students more dependant on PBSA

However, the NUS says that more students are reliant on purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) because there has been a big fall in the number of privately rented homes available.

The report says: “PBSA has become a big business for private investors because landlords can charge students more than they could non-students.”

The union is now calling for the Scottish Government to introduce a PBSA regulator which will allow more rights for student tenants to leave what they call ‘exploitative tenancies’.

‘Tackle affordability issues’

David Melhuish, the director of the Scottish Property Federation, told Property118: “The report raises important issues, but we simply must grow the student accommodation supply sector if we are to avoid the crisis, we have seen with student accommodation in recent years.

“The recent Scottish Government research report analysis suggests there is an increasing demand by higher education institutions for private sector investment to support the delivery of new student accommodation.”

He added: “Unless we deliver more student accommodation, then we will not begin to tackle affordability issues.”


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Comments

Mr.A

17:41 PM, 7th February 2023, About A year ago

The Pbsa is very expensive, compared to the PRS student accommodation in Scootland
Also the PBSA should have to obide by the same rules and regulations as the Student PRS landlords.
The SNP are as usual giving preferential treatment to big business ( future employers),whilst blindly, stupidly ,devastating the Student PRS in Scotland.
.

LL Minion

19:05 PM, 7th February 2023, About A year ago

my daughter has been offered a place at Uni in scotland. I told her to take the uni place in england offered instead.
Insane politics up there led by a nutter who cant decide if a man is a man or a woman and wants independence at any cost. No hope for anything sensible coming from her mouth.

Grumpy Doug

7:46 AM, 8th February 2023, About A year ago

"However, the NUS says that more students are reliant on purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) because there has been a big fall in the number of privately rented homes available."
UK politicians beware - Gove's reform bill will ban fixed term tenancies. All students in the PRS have fixed term tenancies so the situation in Scotland will be mirrored here in England .... but on a much larger scale!

"The report says: “PBSA has become a big business for private investors because landlords can charge students more than they could non-students.”"
This didn't really make a lot of sense. PBSA is student only and hence not available to non-students (strictly speaking). PBSA is typically large corporate owned, not the private investor.

Mr.A

9:20 AM, 8th February 2023, About A year ago

Quote from above.
"didn't really make a lot of sense. PBSA is student only and hence not available to non-students (strictly speaking). PBSA is typically large corporate owned, not the private investor."
It means the big corporations are currently going after the student market due to higher returns and because they still have fixed term contracts unlike the PRS , Big money avoids the hassle of housing the "problem tenants ".
It a bloody disaster in Scotland for the PRS Sturgen and Harvey licking the boots of big Money .
Hopefully the Gender recognition faff will see them lose a lot of support, but even then it will be Labour who by the sound if things will be even more anti small landlord...
Time to sellup and retire.

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