A critical shortage of student housing in many of the UK's key university cities will see rents increase, says a new survey.
The findings come from a student platform which examined student demand for accommodation in some of the country's top university towns and found that many students are struggling to find suitable living accommodation.
In addition, universities are also finding there's growing demand for student property.
The demand is led by students at the University of Exeter, with 62% of students looking for property, followed by the University of Reading and the University of Bath which both had a 53% demand.
Accommodation for students should be a priority
A spokesman for the site said: “Accommodation for students should be a priority since they've worked hard to prepare for their education and it's a worry they arrive without somewhere to sleep. Many universities are seeing high levels of demand for property so things don't bode well for students looking to arrive next year.”
The top 10 of universities seeing the highest demand for student accommodation places Bath Spa University in fourth place, followed by the University for the Creative Arts with the universities of Roehampton, Durham, Essex and Lancaster also seeing strong demand.
In 10th spot is Royal Holloway, University of London.
This demand for quality student accommodation across the UK has also been underlined by a survey by another housing provider which reveals that rents for students grew by 10% over the last 12 months.
The survey highlighted that demand for student homes in some cities is so strong that rents are leaving students around £600 worse off every year.
Government HMO licensing proposals spark warning
Meanwhile, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) has warned that the government proposals to change HMO licensing regulations will have 'unintended consequences'.
A spokesman for Arla said: “We do not agree with licensing because it does not work and councils have a wide variety of powers already to prosecute poor property conditions as well as bad management practices.
“A failure to inspect and tackle landlords without a licence is a concern and serves to enforce our view that licensing isn't an effective solution to the problem.”
Arla was responding to the government consultation over its plans to remove rules regarding the number of storeys for HMOs and an extension of mandatory licensing for flats below and above business premises.
Arla has also highlighted its fears that a parent living in letting rooms or a bedsit with a baby or small child would be contravening licensing rules under the government's new scheme.
