The Government is doing too little to support the student landlords and many places are short of accommodation for second- and third-year graduates, a new poll has found.

YouGov canvassed some 2,000 members of the public on behalf of a national coalition called the Student Accredited Private Rental Sector (SAPRS) and found that 53% thought the government should be doing more to support students find housing.

This latest survey follows recent reports that many students coming into their second year in particular are struggling to find affordable housing, and also news that the Renters (Reform) Bill, unless amended, will make it difficult for student landlords to rent out their properties.

This is because the Bill will end fixed-term tenancy agreements (FTTAs) for private student housing.

"Damning evidence for the government to act quickly

Higher education organisations like Universities UK have warned that such a move would threaten the availability, affordability, and quality of student housing in a sector already in crisis.

A similar withdrawal of FTTAs in Scotland in 2017 has led to a shortage of student housing, SAPRS says.

The coalition also believes that the Bill must be amended to ensure parity between corporate purpose-built student accommodation and private student housing to avoid a worsening of the crisis, provided that landlords sign up to an approved code of conduct with quality standards and protections for students.

Educational issue

Calum MacInnes (pictured_, Chair at SAPRS says: “Our research provides damning evidence for the government to act quickly and offer parity for private student housing with purpose-built student accommodation.

Paddy Jackman, CEO at student accommodation firm Unipol adds: “Student accommodation is an educational issue. The current lack of affordable accommodation means that students are choosing where to study based on accommodation availability or, worse, being limited to institutions to which they can commute from their family home.”

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