Only one in six on-campus university rooms in the UK have been found to be affordable for students, our latest research has revealed.
The analysis of 49,161 rooms across the UK reveals the lack of affordable accommodation available for students, especially those in their first year of university.
Nine campuses were studied as part of the research: University College London, the University of Birmingham, the University of Leeds, Warwick University, Manchester University, Nottingham University, the University of Edinburgh, Cardiff University and Queen’s University Belfast.
Accommodation we examined included rooms with shared facilities, ensuite rooms, and self-catered and catered offerings. It did not include larger-scale rooms such as studios and family suites.
The National Union of Students (NUS) states that 35% of rooms should be offered at 55% of the maximum student loan. This means that UK universities are offering only about half the quantity of affordable on-campus accommodation needed for students.
What is the impact on students?
University is an exciting time for people, especially young people embarking on the next stage of their lives. It should not be a time mired by money problems and difficulties covering the rent. Too many universities claim to look out for their students’ well-being while raking it in as their landlords.
Our homes are the foundation from which we build our lives, relationships and aspirations. Student accommodation is no different. Universities must offer their students enough affordable accommodation so that every person undertaking their degrees and qualifications. This will enable them to thrive and to reach their full potential.
Are you a student renter? Tell us your story here.
You can find the full research here.
For the purposes of the research, Generation Rent have taken ‘affordable’ to mean 55% or less of the total maximum student loan. This is widely used as the affordable threshold for student accommodation (for example by PwC).
It was assumed in this research that students would by studying in the country they received their student loan from. For example, English students received an English student loan and Scottish students a Scottish loan.
All pricings for university accommodation were taken from the 2023/24 academic year. The exception is University College London, which did not have the 2023/24 academic year pricings available at the time of the research. This data is taken from the 2022/23 academic year.
Some universities were unable to provide the quantity of some or all of the rooms they offer to students, meaning that these could not be included in the analysis.
