Dedicated student housing supply in London has not kept pace with demand

The shortfall in London student digs has been consistently above the national average for almost a decade, with the equivalent of 2.6 people with a need for a bed now chasing each purpose built one in the capital according to latest estimates.

Real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield looked at student to bed ratios between the 2013/14 and 2023/24 academic years.

It pointed to a number of challenges deterring investors from this part of the property industry in London, including high financing costs and planning hurdles.

The firm calculated a 2.6:1 figure for the capital for the most recent year compared with a 2.1:1 UK average- that was the same as the prior 12 months. The last time London fared better than the national figure was in 2013/14 with 2.3:1 compared with 2.4:1 respectively.

Growing student numbers, coupled with limited development is leading to supply issues in the market, leading to an increased reliance on the wider private rental sector.

But Andrew Smith, Cushman & Wakefield's head of UK student accommodation, anticipates developers and buyers could look at the industry more this year.

He said: “Development of purpose built student accommodation has not kept pace with demand, but as we start to see more stability in finance rates and inflation, we expect investor appetite and transactional volumes to grow significantly throughout 2024.”

Sophia Nasif, sabbatical officer at Arts SU: “There just isn't enough housing to go around in London, including for student only accommodation, such as halls of residence (which is only open to certain groups of students anyway, such as first years). The renters market is extremely competitive.”

The sabbatical officer added: “Students are competing to access the same limited housing as professionals, and are often unsuccessful due to comparative lack of income, guarantors or even knowledge/experience.”