UK Students Pay More Rent For University Accommodation
According to a poll, the rent UK university students pay for halls of residence has soared by 60% in the last decade to an average of £7,347 per year, beyond the reach of the typical student maintenance loan.
A study of roughly 500,000 student hall beds, rentals have been progressively rising, with prices 4.4% more than last year and 16% higher than before the epidemic. As a result, many students are obliged to work part-time alongside their studies, live at home, or rely on family for financial assistance, because typical maintenance loans, which are also designed to cover living expenses, are £6,900.
The National Union of Students (NUS) and housing charity, Unipol report warns that rent for student rooms is rising much faster than inflation. There is a growing scarcity of genuinely affordable rooms, and that choice is narrowing as private halls providers, which now operate the majority of student housing, focus on offering luxury studio apartments, often aimed at international students, rather than cheaper alternatives. London is exceptionally pricey for students, with average rentals totalling £10,857, which is 61% more than the rest of the UK average.
The NUS’s vice-president for higher education, Hillary Gyebi-Ababio, argued that the affordability of student housing affects students’ educational experience, and has a significant influence in access and broadening participation. She stated, “It is appalling that so many young people are priced out of university, either prevented or unwilling to apply, or have their options severely constrained by where they can afford to live.”
The research also emphasised universities’ increasing reliance on profit-seeking commercial providers, who operated 70% of the beds evaluated. The number of beds supplied by these providers has more than quadrupled from 142,439 in 2012-13 to 361,717 in 2021-22. According to the report, this trend is expected to continue.
According to the survey, private operators’ are about 24% more expensive than those managed by universities, and the difference is widening as private providers prefer to price themselves based on what rivals are charging rather than what students can pay. For example, the average rent for a self-catered room in private halls is £5,157 for university-owned housing, £5,985 for private housing contracted by the university, and £7,264 for entirely private halls.
The NUS is urging universities to keep a tighter grip on the rents charged by the private halls with which they collaborate; to offer more affordable rooms, as the most affordable accommodation – standard shared bathroom rooms – is in decline; and to provide housing bursaries to disadvantaged students.