Posts with tag: UniHomes

Rental stock research reveals university areas with highest rental demand

Published On: July 14, 2021 at 8:29 am

Tags: rental market,student accommodation,UniHomes

Rental stock research reveals university areas with highest rental demand

Student accommodation platform UniHomes has researched which universities are seeing the greatest rental demand from new students, as the beginning of a new academic year approaches.

UniHomes’ Student Rental Hotspots Index looks at the UK’s top 100 universities. Every quarter it highlights which ones are currently experiencing the highest demand for student rental accommodation. This demand is based on the number of student homes listed on the market that have already had a let agreed as a percentage of total stock available.

The Q2 index shows that there is currently a tie for the highest level of student demand. Both the University of St Andrews and the University of Cambridge rank top, with 60% of all rental stock listed around each university already taken.

The University of Nottingham is also home to some of the highest levels of demand at 44%, with the University of York (42%) and the University of Glasgow (42%) making the top five as well.

Other universities seeing some of the strongest levels of student rental demand include the University of Essex (34%), the University of Southampton (31%), Aston University, Birmingham (29%), Durham University (27%) and the University College London (27%).

Phil Greaves, Co-Founder of UniHomes, comments: “As thousands of students begin moving into their student accommodation for the fast-approaching academic year, the return to in-class learning this year is still pushing high rental demand surrounding the nation’s universities.

“Despite much of the last year’s learning being done in a virtual capacity due to the pandemic, we’ve seen many students remain keen to carry on renting within their chosen university city and this has provided some much-needed certainty for student landlords.

“If you haven’t yet secured your student accommodation for the new academic year then don’t worry. While demand around many universities is high, there is still plenty of stock on the market for those looking to the year ahead.”

Table shows the top 10 UK universities for current student rental demand
University	Main Campus Outcode	Student Rental Demand
University of St Andrews	KY16	60%
University of Cambridge	CB2	60%
University of Nottingham	NG7	44%
University of York	YO10	42%
University of Glasgow	G12	42%
University of Essex	CO4	34%
University of Southampton	SO17	31%
Aston University, Birmingham	B4	29%
Durham University	DH1	27%
University College London	WC1	27%
Data sourced from Rightmove based on student rental stock available as a percentage of all student rental stock including that which has already had a let agreed.

Student accommodation rental demand unchanged by pandemic

Published On: June 7, 2021 at 8:13 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Lettings News

Tags: student accommodation,UniHomes

Rental reform plans risk damaging access to higher education, says NRLA

The UK’s rental demand for student properties has remained unchanged by the pandemic, research from student accommodation provider UniHomes has found.

Their research reveals which UK universities have seen consistent student demand, helping maintain rental yields in the surrounding areas.

UniHomes analysed rental yields in postcodes surrounding main campuses of the top 100 UK universities and considered how they’d changed since the start of 2020.

The University of St Andrews has seen the average rental yield increase from 3.4% to 5% since the start of the pandemic. Additionally, Aberystwyth University has also seen a notable increase, up from 4.6% to 5.9%.

Lancaster University has also seen the average rental yield increase by 1% since the start of last year, with Loughborough University, Falmouth University and Queen’s University Belfast seeing yields climb by 0.9%.

Edinburgh Napier University (0.8%), University of Leeds (0.8%), Manchester Metropolitan University (0.7%) and University of Edinburgh (0.7%) also make the top 10.

Phil Greaves, Co-Founder and Director of UniHomes, comments: “Despite the pandemic and the restrictions imposed around face to face teaching for much of the last university year, we’ve seen a consistent demand from students looking for properties.

“We understand that living away from home to attend university is a massive part of the student experience. Even now, most will have secured a property for the next academic year, however, we are still witnessing a high demand in key areas.

“This demonstrates the strength of the sector and with the appetite for student rentals only set to grow, we should see this positive trend continue as we approach the new university year.”

Table shows the top 10 universities for pandemic rental yield growth
University	Outcode – main home campus	Rental Yield – Jan 2021	Rental Yield – May 2021	Pandemic yield change
University of St Andrews	KY16	3.4%	5.0%	1.6%
Aberystwyth University	SY23	4.6%	5.9%	1.3%
Lancaster University	LA1	4.6%	5.6%	1.0%
Loughborough University	LE11	3.2%	4.1%	0.9%
Falmouth University	TR10	5.9%	6.8%	0.9%
Queen’s University Belfast	BT7	4.0%	4.9%	0.9%
Edinburgh Napier University	EH11	5.2%	6.0%	0.8%
University of Leeds	LS2	5.9%	6.7%	0.8%
Manchester Metropolitan University	M15	5.0%	5.7%	0.7%
University of Edinburgh	EH8	5.8%	6.5%	0.7%
Average yields in each university outcode based on rental and house price market data sourced from PropertyData

Landlords urged to be vigilant with student pet rental requests

Published On: February 24, 2021 at 9:37 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News,Law News

Tags: government,lets with pets,PFMA,RSPCA,tenancy agreements,UniHomes

Student accommodation platform UniHomes warns student rental sector letting agents and landlords to act with greater vigilance now that the model tenancy agreement has been changed.

The Government’s model tenancy agreement has been amended to prevent a blanket ban on pets. UniHomes highlights how this could lead to an increase in the number of students opting to have a pet while at university.

In response to a survey held by the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA) last year, 2.1m people said they’d added a pet to their family during lockdown. 1.8m responded that they were planning to add a new pet to their household.

However, abandoned pets are still a big problem for the RSPCA, which received 985 reports of dumped and unwanted animals to its cruelty line in November 2020 alone.

UniHomes fears that this is a trend that could soon start to sweep the student rental sector due to recent changes to the model tenancy agreement now allowing well-behaved pets in rental properties.

Research by UniHomes found that just 6% of all student accommodation currently listed on the market is pet friendly. However, it also found that while just 10% of students currently choose to have their pet live with them, 48% would have a pet while at university if ‘pet friendly’ accommodation was more widely available.

Instead of a blanket ban on pets, landlords must now object in writing within 28 days of a pet request from a tenant. Rejections should only be made for a good reason such as the property being unpractical for the pet in question. Tenants will also remain responsible for any damages and the cost incurred.

With no distinction made between regular and student properties, the rental platform believes an easing of pet rental restrictions coupled with lockdown restrictions could cause an uplift in pet ownership amongst students. The unfortunate consequence of which could be an increase in pets being abandoned at the end of term time.

Phil Greaves, Co-Founder of UniHomes, commented: “Recent amendments to the model tenancy agreement mean that more landlords could be about to open up their homes to well-behaved pet roommates for students studying at university.

However, we would urge both landlords and letting agents to be vigilant when it comes to student pet rental requests and consider the welfare of the animal as much as the potential impact on their property.

We’ve seen numerous cases where students have left pets for the landlord or agent to deal with once they’ve finished their studies and we wouldn’t advise it for students who are keen to live the party lifestyle.”

Survey of 1,068 UK students carried out by Find Out Now (11th February 2021)

Do you have a pet in your student accommodation?

Answer	Respondents
No	90%
Yes	10%

Would you have brought a pet to university if pet-friendly student accommodation was more widely available?

Answer	Respondents
No	52%
Yes	48%

Pet-friendly stock based on the proportion of all student-specific rental stock that allows pets

Location	Pet-friendly rentals as a % of all student-specific rental stock
Newport	20%
London	15%
Aberdeen	12%
Edinburgh	11%
Glasgow	11%
Cambridge	6%
Plymouth	3%
Liverpool	3%
Manchester	3%
Sunderland	3%
Southampton	2%
Bradford	2%
Birmingham	2%
Portsmouth	2%
Bournemouth	2%
Oxford	2%
Bristol	1%
Swansea	1%
Nottingham	1%
Sheffield	1%
Leeds	1%
Newcastle	0%
Leicester	0%
Cardiff	0%
Belfast	0%
All	6%

Data sourced from Zoopla.