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Student housing shortages are going to get worse in some cities, according to the charity Unipol.
It says the number of new purpose-built rooms being created is tumbling, despite student numbers growing.
Keira Barber, 18, says she had to switch universities because she was unable to afford accommodation at her first choice.
Universities UK say they always try to help because housing issues are significant worry.
The National Union of Students (NUS) is calling for rent controls on student housing.
In recent years, some universities have struggled to provide a room near campus for new students, offering them housing in neighbouring cities instead.
Keira just missed out on the grades she needed so took up an offer of a place at Manchester Metropolitan University to study law as soon as clearing opened.
Each day she logged on to the accommodation portal to look for a room in a purpose-built student flat.
“The first day I got a glimpse of a room, then that sold out. The second and third day as soon as it updated there was nothing left,” she says.
‘It’s worse than it looks’
She paid the deposit for a room that would cost £8,300 for the year, more than her maximum budget, but it was refunded the next day as that building had sold out.
“I was very stressed, panicking thinking I’ve got into the uni but I’ve got nowhere to live,” she says.
So Keira ended up ditching the offer from Manchester Met and has switched to Sheffield Hallam where she’s guaranteed to get a place in a flat with other first years.
Manchester Metropolitan University says it guarantees accommodation for first year students who put them as first choice and had applied for a room before 15 June.
It says it recognises the challenges in the city in recent years and has reserved extra rooms close to the campus for the coming academic year.
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Most student accommodation is now built and rented by the private sector, and Unipol keeps a register of the number of rooms as part of a voluntary code of conduct.
In a blog to be published by the Higher Education Policy Institute, Unipol chief executive Martin Blakey says the creation of new student rooms is grinding to a halt, mainly because of high building costs.
The charity says 29,048 new student rooms were created across the UK in 2020, but by this year that had fallen to 13,543 and some of those were old buildings being brought back into use.
“It’s worse than it looks,” he tells the BBC, saying it’s because not all those new rooms are in the cities with shortages.
“In those cities where you’ve got a serious problem the idea you will be able to afford to live close to campus is for the birds.”
So for example, while Coventry has more than enough accommodation, it’s getting tougher in other cities like Durham, Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester.
While the cost of creating new student housing has gone up, because building costs are more expensive, there is a limit to what most students can afford to pay.
And it’s no easier for students once they’re at university, with competition in some cities driving prices up.
In Manchester, estate agents told the BBC houses for second and third years for autumn 2024 will start being rented from late November this year.
Elliot Briffa is going into his third and final year at the University of Manchester.
He’s more than £300 out of pocket because he had to start paying rent for the coming term, while still finishing the contract on his current student house share.
Rent eats up most of the maximum loan that Elliot gets because he’s from a low income family.
“I’ve had panic attacks walking round the shops seeing how much food is going up,” he says.
“If I didn’t have to spend so much keeping a roof over my head I wouldn’t be worried about using a food bank.”
The most luxurious student housing in Manchester, run by a company called Vita, is aimed mainly at international students.
En-suite studio rooms at their Circle Square building start from £320 a week, which also provides access to a movie room, bookable private dining room, printing services, gym and big communal sitting rooms and study areas.
They run social events every week too, to help the large number of Chinese students settle into a foreign city.
Chloe Field, from the NUS, says students are the victims of a wider housing crisis.
“Students are struggling, clearly developers aren’t happy, something needs to happen,” she says.
She says the NUS wants to see more affordable accommodation created and rent controls considered to stop prices escalating.
Universities UK says usually there would be a first year student guarantee, and different approaches are in place depending on the city.
It also says universities aren’t responsible for wider pressures in the housing market but should work with private providers and others to find solutions.
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