It’s the tenth year of Save the Student’s National Student Accommodation Survey and with a wave of new renting rights in England, it’s as good a time as any to evaluate the state of students’ living conditions.
This year's stats are based on 1,149 responses – the data has been cleaned to remove non-students and false entries, although that's the extent of available detail about the methodology, sample, weighting or targeting.
The headlines paint a bleak picture of students juggling expensive rents, poor quality housing and worrying about housing shortages.
What's noteworthy isn't really in the stats but more in predicting how students' renting experiences may change as the Renters Rights Act comes into force in England – with plenty of potential unintended consequences.
Respondents' average cost of rent was £575 per month, unsurprisingly London was the most expensive region at £793 per month. 61 per cent of respondents were struggling with rent costs.
But it's not only cost that's an issue. The availability of housing is causing challenges – over a third (35 per cent) rent a property without having viewed it, 36 per cent had considered leaving their studies due to high rent costs, and two in five felt their accommodation was poor value for money.
When it came to when students start to look for a property, October and November came out on top – 37 per cent were hoping not to move at all.
For students in England this is supposed to change next academic year – if a landlord wants to right to evict them the following summer, they can’t sign a student up any earlier than six months before the tenancy is due to start.
And for students looking to stay on, the new legislation incentivises booting students out – rent rises are limited to market rates, but that applies to tenancies, not houses, so the price can (and will) get jacked up between tenancies,
Letting agents and landlords are already experimenting with dubious advance “agreements to enter into a tenancy later”, so the jury’s out on whether the measure will work.
12 per cent of respondents said they had to queue outside estate agents to secure a property or viewing - a trend we saw a few years ago that may make an unwelcome return in January 2027.
One in two worried about the housing shortage, and the anxiety presents itself in respondents feeling pressured into picking properties due to a lack of alternatives (61 per cent), searching earlier (57 per cent), agreeing to a property without viewing (35 per cent) or choosing a property further away (35 per cent).
The biggest problems in housing quality were reported to be damp (30 per cent) followed by lack of water/heating (25 per cent) and electrical faults (20 per cent). The Decent Homes Standard would in theory help prevent some of these – but its delayed implementation until 2035 kicks the can down the road and leaves students with mouldy rooms and no hot water for at least a decade.
Four in five respondents said their rent covered at least one extra service, this was most commonly water, electricity or gas, just under half (48 per cent) said broadband was included. Any announcements about £150 off energy bills from the budget are often not felt by students with any sort of built-in bills package, given these benefits are passed onto the landlord.
Where bill costs are high (or the allowance in “all inclusive” turns out to be anything but), respondents take drastic measures to reduce their usage and that often involves not putting the heating on (61 per cent), having shorter/fewer showers (43 per cent) or not cooking as often (33 per cent).
“[I have] spent more time in the library so I don't have to use electricity at home. [I use] candles instead of lights at home. [I have] quick showers and switch off [the] shower when putting conditioner in and using shower gel.”
Housing policy is an education and health issue. 49 per cent of respondents in our Belong research with Cibyl reported that housing affects their health, with 22 per cent stating this was a negative impact. In Save the Student's findings 70 per cent of respondents say their health suffers and 38 per cent report their studying suffers.
It's unsurprising that only 45 per cent of respondents were aware of the new Renters' Rights Act and that only 18 per cent understood what would change. What landlords, universities and SUs communicate over the next couple of months will be crucial before students start to have their tenancy end date change, receive complex eviction notices, or find themselves exiting their contract.
May 1st is the key date, when many will be in the midst of revising for or undertaking final exams and assessments. It's a dangerous cocktail that good supportive comms and a strong relationship with local governments and combined authorities will be central to alleviating.