Home » Uncategorised »
Shortage of student housing sees rents rise
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Interesting new research has revealed that student rents have increased by up to 10% over the last year, as the housing shortage across Britain countries.
Spiralling student demand is driving rents higher in some of the UK’s largest towns and cities. These include Cambridge, Surrey, Oxford and Edinburgh. In these regions, there are five students competing for each available room.
Southern squeeze
The shortage of housing for students is particularly concerning in the South of England and London, where more universities naturally means more demand.
Data from the report by Spareroom.com also reveals that nearly one-third of rooms for rent in top university towns and cities are not available to students.
Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom.co.uk, noted: ‘students aren’t just battling rising rents, they’re also affected by a private rental market struggling to cope with demand.’[1]
Regional differences
Continuing, Mr Hutchinson observed that there are regional disparities in rental values, meaning that where students choose to go to university could have a massive impact of their post-degree debt.
‘The difference between rents for students at Imperial College in London, compared to those studying at St Andrews in Scotland, is a massive £792 a month. Over a three-year course the difference is eye watering. Even choosing Durham over Oxford could save you more than £7,000 in rent over three years.’[1]
Shortage of student housing housing sees rents rise
Information shown below shows the average room rents in 30 of the UK’s top university towns and cities. Data is taken from Q2 rental data from SpareRoom.co.uk.
| Rank | University | Location | Ave monthly room rent Q2 2016 (£) | Ave monthly room rent Q2 2015 (£) | Annual % difference | No. of people looking per room available Q2 2016 | Current % of rooms available to students |
| 1 | Cambridge | Cambridge | £541 | £509 | 6% | 3.5 | 60 |
| 2 | Oxford | Oxford | £557 | £507 | 10% | 3.2 | 64 |
| 3 | St Andrews | Kirkcaldy | £339 | £329 | 3% | 1.8 | 67 |
| 4 | Surrey | Guildford | £574 | £526 | 9% | 3.8 | 62 |
| 5 | Loughborough | Loughborough | £350 | £339 | 3% | 1.2 | 77 |
| 6 | Durham | Durham | £362 | £367 | -1% | 0.9 | 92 |
| 7 | Imperial College | London SW7 | £1,131 | £1,086 | 4% | 3.9 | 85 |
| 8 | Lancaster | Lancaster | £371 | £353 | 5% | 0.9 | 82 |
| 9 | Warwick | Coventry | £388 | £369 | 5% | 1.7 | 80 |
| 10 | Bath | Bath | £448 | £438 | 2% | 3.2 | 62 |
| 11 | Exeter | Exeter | £434 | £417 | 4% | 1.9 | 59 |
| 12 | London School of Economics | London WC2 | £1,034 | £1,094 | -5% | 5.2 | 86 |
| 13 | Birmingham | Birmingham | £405 | £413 | -2% | 3.1 | 63 |
| 14 | UCL | London WC1 | £870 | £833 | 4% | 4.6 | 85 |
| 15 | Coventry | Coventry | £388 | £369 | 5% | 1.7 | 80 |
| 16 | Leeds | Leeds | £374 | £353 | 6% | 2.8 | 64 |
| 17 | Southampton | Southampton | £436 | £417 | 4% | 2.5 | 54 |
| 18 | City | London EC1 | £920 | £904 | 2% | 3.2 | 71 |
| 19 | York | York | £400 | £379 | 6% | 2.4 | 63 |
| 20 | Sussex | Brighton | £511 | £492 | 4% | 3.7 | 63 |
| 21 | Edinburgh | Edinburgh | £469 | £438 | 7% | 5 | 70 |
| 22 | Kent | Canterbury | £418 | £422 | -1% | 1.9 | 81 |
| 22 | UEA | Norwich | £401 | £374 | 7% | 2.4 | 62 |
| 24 | Nottingham | Nottingham | £374 | £358 | 4% | 1.8 | 69 |
| 25 | Glasgow | Glasgow | £390 | £376 | 4% | 3.9 | 75 |
| 26 | Heriot-Watt | Edinburgh | £469 | £438 | 7% | 5 | 70 |
| 27 | Dundee | Dundee | £323 | £311 | 4% | 1.6 | 93 |
| 28 | Aston | Birmingham | £405 | £413 | -2% | 3.1 | 63 |
| 29 | SOAS | London WC1 | £870 | £833 | 4% | 4.6 | 85 |
| 30 | Manchester | Manchester | £414 | £385 | 7% | 3.7 | 74 |
{1)
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/9/student-housing-shortage-sees-rents-soar
