Wealthy Chinese students are paying £66 a week or 42% more in rent than their British counterparts, according to the latest StuRents annual report.

It found that in the 2024-25 cycle, British students paid an average of £158 pppw, while those from China were forking out £224 pppw – and they have very different priorities.

Returning British students still favour HMOs, with 78% choosing them compared with 21% who opt for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), however it’s exactly the reverse with Chinese students.

StuRents reports that there’s been an 8.1% like-for-like growth in PBSA rents compared with a 5.3% growth in HMO growth in the last year – although figures vary widely throughout the UK.

Graduate growth

The number of postgraduate students increased by 47% between 2019 and 2022, while undergraduates grew by a modest 6% over the same period. Undergraduate growth has come mainly from international markets; over the same period, the number of students from outside the EU (ex-UK) jumped by a massive 99%, while the number of British postgraduate students rose by just 4%.

Figures vary widely across the UK; however, Portsmouth reported a 43% year-on-year fall in 2023 of postgraduate students although universities such as Bath, Manchester and Leeds saw increases.

Property lawyer at JMW, David Smith (pictured), says that fixed term tenancies will be banned under the upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill, although purpose built student accommodation will be exempt.

Some smaller student landlords may sell up, while for larger landlords, there are a range of ways to bypass the legislation, at least as it is currently drafted, which may prove attractive, reports Smith.

“Providing in-room cleaning, for example, undermines the right to exclusive possession and therefore allows occupiers to be placed on licence agreements rather than tenancies,” he adds. “This allows for fixed terms to continue and also avoids other obligations of the new legislation, such as the need to join a national landlord database and a landlord redress scheme.”

Read the StuRents report in full.

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