SAY Property Consulting’s Post

Will Nottingham's HMO's Survive PBSA's??? After A-level results day and the clearing process, many landlords and estate agents are facing a daunting reality: the influx of new PBSA units is significantly impacting their HMO rental market certainty. Nottingham's student housing market is undergoing a significant transformation, driven primarily by the rapid development of Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA). According to recent data, there are approximately 8,500 PBSA bed spaces planned or likely to be approved, with an expected delivery of around 3,000 bed spaces in 2024/25 and over 5,000 bed spaces in 2025/26 (Student Accommodation in Nottingham, Nottingham City Council 2024 January) . This surge in PBSA supply has several implications for the HMO market: Increased Competition: HMO landlords will face increased competition from PBSA providers, which often offer modern amenities, dedicated facilities, Prime locations, and professional management. Shift in Student Preferences: Many students are increasingly attracted to the convenience, security, and social aspects of PBSA. Potential for Overhang: If the pace of PBSA development outstrips student demand, there could be a risk of an oversupply, leading to lower occupancy rates and reduced rental income for HMO landlords which is what we are starting to see now. Let me know your thoughts??? #HMO #Nottingham #PropertyInvestment #StudentAccommodation #Landlord #EstateAgent #HousingMarket

Remember how grim student flats were? Cramped HMOs and outdated halls? Black mould and mice under the floorboards… Thankfully, times are changing. Enter PBSA (Purpose-Built Student Accommodation). Why PBSA matters: ✔️ Students Love It:  By offering modern flats, social spaces, and even en-suite bathrooms, students are happy to pay for quality, especially near their campus. ✔️ Universities Love It:  It attracts more students, boosting reputation and enrolment rates. Investors Love It:  With foreign student populations rising each year and a shortage of existing student rental accommodation, PBSA presents a great opportunities for reliable ROI. ✔️ Cities Love It:  With affordable rentals in short supply, PBSA eases pressure on regular non-student housing and keeps student life out of quiet neighbourhoods. Bonus market insight: A-levels have just become more difficult – so what does this mean for the property market? More students will need to consider second and third choice universities. Savvy developers are on to this and are already on the case, building PBSA where it’ll now be needed beyond the most popular university cities. Want recommendations on where to watch for PBSA opportunities? Drop me a message. #studentaccommodation #PBSA #UKproperty #propertyinvestment #investmentinsights

** Sharing your home ** An HMO refers to a home which is shared by three or more people, however, a Student HMO is occupied by students only. There are several benefits to owning a Student HMO, as well as several legislations to adhere to. Landlords, read this guide: https://lnkd.in/exR5bKCs Looking to buy, rent or sell? Contact us: +44 (0) 1902 504455 / info@halleuk.com #studenthousing #hmo #hmoproperty #hmomanagement #landlordtips #landlordsuk #uklandlords #ukstudents #landlordadvice

This is VERY interesting! Students at Russell Group of Universities are less satisfied with their university experience than at other universities... How much does accommodation affordability play a part? Times Higher Education has recently published it's 2024 Student Satisfaction Survey. The results should ring alarm bells for unviersities and local authorities with falling satisfaction and rising rents. The University of Sheffield is the highest scoring RG university. It's also one of the cheapest for accommodation because Sheffield City Council opened the floodgates to PBSA developers around 5 years ago. I look down this list and these are ALL universities where the cost of student accommodation in particular is reasonable compared to the likes of Bristol, Exeter, Durham, Edinburgh and Glasgow which are way down the list of student satisfaction and have the highest rents in the UK. Some notable cities where there is reasonably affordable PBSA stock include: Lincoln (# 1), Plymouth, Liverpool, Wrexham, Sunderland, Sheffield, London (outskirts), Cardiff, Aberystwyth. #pbsa #intled #studentaccommodation #highered #studenthousing #studentsatisfaction #housing #students

Correlation is not necessarily causation, but… Rental growth in capital city rental markets since international borders re-opened in December 2021 has been inversely related to their provision of Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) beds relative to international students. That is, those with the lowest provision, such as Sydney and Perth, have experienced the largest increases in asking rents in this time. In contrast, Canberra, which has the highest provision (and where the Australian National University is able to offer an accommodation guarantee to new students) has experienced only modest rental growth. While there are many caveats to the chart below, it nevertheless highlights the benefits if the Higher Education sector to stepped up to the plate to provide more accommodation for its growing international student intake. Adequate non-market housing aids their students by sheltering them from the challenges of the broader rental market in times such as these, while also somewhat insulating the rest of the rental market from spillover effects on rents that may result due to variations in student demand. For more information on student housing and rental markets, please feel free to contact Rob Burgess or Angie Zigomanis at Quantify Strategic Insights. #studentaccommodation #students #PBSA

There was a real curveball at the Committee Stage of the Renters (Reform) Bill. The proposed Student Ground will be restricted to HMOs only. So does that essentially mean that students will no longer have the option of forming a group of 2 and won't be able organise anything less than 3-bed PRS accommodation in advance of the next academic year? There is a decent percentage of 1-2 bed PRS student properties in York (10%) and Leeds (16.64%) as a sample check to provide just 2 examples. This is going to restrict supply and push these types of properties towards the serviced accommodation market. The student market will lose a minimum of 5% of the total rooms considering the PRS accommodates 50% of all students. If anything, if you go by viewing demand I would say there aren't enough 2-bed options. What about properties that have downsized from a 3 to a 2 due to HMO licensing requirements? Details on page 3. #landlords #property #propertymanagement #lettings #landlordsuk

How can we tempt domestic students from the HMO Market to PBSA? Traditionally it has been the same for years, domestic students will spend year one in halls and then move into the HMO and PRS market. So is just affordability that prevents PBSA from cornering the market with Domestic students, is HMO living seen as a right of passage, or could it just be that we are not getting the right marketing message to domestic students? Looking at property portals in Manchester, there are PBSA rooms in the city centre, on the Oxford Road corridor 5/ 10 minute walk from University starting at £135 pp in a 4 bed cluster with shared bathroom and kitchen. On the HMO market there is an 8 bedroom , 2 bathrooms house at £140 pp a week including bills. Sounds comparable right? There are now HMO rooms in MCR at up to £180, which is closing the gap to the lower end of the PBSA market. The quality at the higher end of the HMO market is much higher now than ever but still HMO tenants are missing out on; 🏚 On site security 🤝 Pastoral care 🎂 Student experience 💸 Bills inclusive as standard 📄 Flexible lease terms – some still insist on 52 week tenancies 🏘 Individual tenancies – many still asking for joint and several AST’s That’s not starting on the amenities available in the higher end PBSA stock. No doubt we need more affordable PBSA, but is price going to be enough to tempt our students away from HMO? Do we need to rethink our marketing to better compete with the HMO experience? Derwent FM Derwent Students #propertymanagent #pbsa #student

"There are simply more students requiring it, than accommodation available" Here’s a snippet from our conversation with Alan 2 weeks ago. There’s a serious problem being faced by UK universities right now. When I started my studies at the University of Surrey in 2018 there were 2.38m students in the UK. Now, just 5 years later there’s over 2.85m. That’s an increase of nearly 100,000 students every year. Granted, not all of these students will live in privately rented accommodation but how well has the PBSA market kept up with the increased demand? In the last 5 years, there has been a squeeze on how many PBSA beds have been developed. StuRents reported that between 2018 and 2022 there were 131,000 new beds added to the PBSA market.  Since COVID, we’ve seen an excellent recovery in student numbers, but the damage seems to be longer-lasting in the HMO market. Landlords are moving out of the student space, and I haven’t seen much positive news surrounding HMOs in a long time. This problem is becoming more widespread, and universities are already beginning to feel the pressure, with it only set to get worse. We’re creating a solution for universities to take control of the off-campus housing market, and feel comfortable putting their students in privately rented accommodation. Does student accommodation remain a talking point at your university? If so, drop me a message and I'll happily walk you through how we're helping institutions tackle their accommodation problems. #university #accommodation #crisis

#SocialMediaMonday - Anyone with an eye on the challenges Australia, Canada, and the UK have had with international student housing knows how significant this issue is. This ICEF webinar will delve into the issues surrounding this critical facet of intl ed. #intled

🔔 The Scottish Government has launched a consultation to seek the views of accommodation providers on ending student tenancies early in Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), halls of residence and other student accommodations. ▶ The consultation is open until 31 October 2024 and is looking for information on accommodation / tenancy agreements, on the consequences of vacant rooms as a result of tenancy breaks, refund provisions and any further related financial consequences. ✍ This will feed into the PBSA reform project to consider reforming notice periods in the student accommodation sector with a view to aligning student tenancy agreements with those in the private rented sector, that is to say, to provide a 28 days' notice period. 👉 You can find the full consultation here - https://lnkd.in/eRyQJejF   Also to note, there is a separate consultation to seek student perspectives that can be found here - https://lnkd.in/evy3Q67v