The purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) sector will play a vital role in tackling the undersupply of student beds and maintaining the status of the UK’s world-class universities, a parliamentary reception has heard.
The PBSA sector has developed from nothing 20 years ago into an industry with more than £20bn of assets that provides 175,000 beds to students, compared with 275,000 in university halls. This still falls short of the 800,000 beds a year needed for universities to meet their ‘accommodation promise’ to provide housing for first year undergraduate and international students.
Richard Simpson, Managing Director of the UK’s leading operator of purpose built student accommodation, UNITE, said that the predicted rise in student numbers, following the removal of number caps in the Autumn Statement, would put further pressure on student accommodation.
He said: “The student accommodation sector has grown rapidly over the last 20 years, mirroring the success of the UK university system. The increasing ‘global marketisation’ of the higher education sector means that the next 20 years will undoubtedly be just as dynamic.
“The role for the student accommodation sector will be to assist in maintaining the UK’s market leading higher education capability. Higher Education Institutions are a critical part of the UK. Our HE sector is rated globally as one of the very best and is the UK’s fifth largest services export. It is an important part of the nation’s brand and plays a large part in community life the length and breadth of the country.”
The House of Commons reception, held to mark the parliamentary launch of the British Property Federation’s Student Accommodation Committee, heard that the UK is the second most popular destination for internationally mobile higher education students behind the USA, with a global market share of 13%. Figures published the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills estimate education exports were worth £17.5bn to the UK economy in 2011. About £6.3bn of that, was accommodation costs paid by overseas students in the UK.
Liz Peace, Chief Executive of the BPF, said: "Student numbers have grown dramatically over the past 20 years, today standing at 1.7m and rising. Despite universities' 'accommodation promise' to provide housing for all first year undergraduate and international students, university halls only hold enough bed spaces for a third of that group. We hope that the Student Accommodation Committee will help the purpose built student accommodation sector offer part of the solution to dealing with this urgent demand in the coming years.”
Nadhim Zahawi MP, hosting the reception, said: "Students are particularly vulnerable to unscrupulous landlords; they need peace of mind. Increasing the stock of high quality student accommodation is one of the ways we can do that, since what distinguishes purpose built student accommodation from private rentals is accreditation.
"Supporting this market also has fantastic economic benefits, since higher education has an impact at every level of our economy. Offering purpose built student accommodation will free up university funds which can be better spent on teaching and research.
"To strengthen student welfare, to free up capital for innovation, and to be more internationally competitive, it is vital that we make this market a success."
Paul Uppal MP, Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon David Willetts MP, said at the event: “We have a wonderful asset in terms of university education. It is a wonderful success story, in terms of property and in terms of student accommodation.”
