Kate Forester shares their outlook on the future of UK student accommodation, from evolving demand and investment to affordability, sustainability and student experience.
Market & Demand
What fundamental shifts do you anticipate in UK student demand over the next decade, and how should the sector position itself to respond?
To what extent are changing student demographics and expectations reshaping the design and location of accommodation assets?
The cost of university and the cost of living are at the forefront of student decision-making and, now more than ever, we are seeing that influence the demand on accommodation mixes within PBSA. Students across all demographics are looking for value for money from their university experience and a critical part of that is their accommodation. It’s important that new developments and properties being refurbished and repositioned deliver a range of options to suit all student demographics and budgets, and we are seeing the mix of studios to clusters rebalancing from the heavily weighted studio-led schemes of recent years to include a higher proportion of cluster bedrooms again.
This is generally to widen the appeal of accommodation to all student types, but it directly encourages interest from domestic students, while reducing reliance on some international students. Importantly, students are comparing PBSA with BTR and Co-living schemes, and with that comes the expectation around amenity offering, lifestyle, furniture specification, space, and aesthetic.
Over the next decade, particularly as the 18-year-old demographic spikes in 2030 before dropping back slightly before plateauing, UK student demand will be driven as much by changing expectations as these changing demographics. Students are looking for community, wellbeing, and a better overall living experience that gives them real value in their experience at university – a ‘home away from home’. Today’s students are the first generation to grow up with ambient and invisible technology and intelligence, and algorithms are simply expected. This will only increase over the coming years, so providers of accommodation need to stay ahead with smart buildings, seamless digital services, and useful AI that really supports the student’s journey from discovery and booking, right through to the day they depart because of the ongoing pressure on affordability, it’s likely we will see the proportion of commuter students increase, or at least remain at similar levels as they are now, and this will potentially affect accommodation if overall university numbers do plateau.
The university sector needs to be clear over the coming years in making the case for the value of university and specifically, the value of the residential university experience – which has so many more benefits than just the academic outcome – to ensure the sector continues to attract young people in the numbers we all hope for.
Flexibility and adaptability will be critical for the success of PBSA in the years to come, and the sector may need to think differently about asset locations, transport links, flexible spaces, and contract types. Ultimately, the most successful accommodation going forward will combine strong community, excellent technology, convenience, and value to meet the needs of a more diverse student population, and operators who deliver these things will be the ones which succeed.
Strategy & Investment
How are you thinking about portfolio strategy in today’s market—balancing new development, acquisitions, and asset repositioning?
What are the biggest risks and opportunities for investors in the student accommodation sector right now?
Investment into UK PBSA hit £2.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone; the strongest start to a calendar year for the sector in more than a decade, so capital isn’t waiting around for a downturn that isn’t coming, despite the normalisation of demand and the normalisation of rental growth following the post-COVID uplift. The challenge remains on viability, which means new properties are coming through with top-end rents, and the risk is that the quality gap grows between the newer buildings and existing buildings, which may not get the investment they need over the coming years.
This, however, creates a huge opportunity for value-add or long-term investors who want good quality, well-located properties that can deliver solid long-term occupancy and financial performance. The sector’s long-term fundamentals remain strong, but there have been localised leasing challenges in some markets for many reasons, from increased supply and digestion of that stock, affordability pressures, university rankings, changing international student priorities etc.
This cyclical nature of localised city markets is nothing new and has been seen for decades, and adapting to this changing landscape is the skill. Making sure rental levels remain aligned with the quality of the accommodation, amenities, and overall student experience on offer in comparison with that city market is the key to success as value for money – not necessarily cost of rent – becomes a top priority for students investing in their university experience.
The structural undersupply in some cities hasn’t gone away, but micro-location is the critical factor and instead of being a numbers game, it’s a game of quality, cost, and value. Targeted capital investment and refurbishment of older assets, upgrading bedrooms, adding or enhancing amenity spaces, and improving sustainability credentials, both to increase the attractiveness of a building to potential residents, but also to drive down operating costs, can drive rental growth, resident satisfaction, and longevity – ensuring the long-term success of an asset.
Quality operators are increasingly the ones responsible for protecting and growing that value, and operational execution is now a primary value driver. Leasing, resident satisfaction, retention, service delivery, pricing and marketing strategies all influence performance. The operator actively creates value, and competitive advantage in PBSA no longer comes from who has the newest building, but which are run the best.
The political landscape, particularly when it comes to the question of immigration and visa policies, remains a risk over the longer term, but this is not just a UK issue and many countries have tightened rules on this. We hope successive governments will continue to see the UK HE landscape for what it is – one of the greatest exports the UK has to offer – and ensure the UK remains a welcoming environment for students choosing to invest in UK higher education and benefit from our world-class institutions.
Student Experience & Value Proposition
How is the definition of “value” changing for students, and what must operators do differently to meet those expectations?
In what ways can accommodation providers contribute more meaningfully to student wellbeing, community, and academic success?
Value is not just about price, but about the overall student experience, and that means different things to different people. At Homes for Students, we have different brands for different price points and property offerings, but we ensure the service levels, safety, and professional management ethos are delivered across the board. Some residents want or need more basic accommodation, while others want (and can afford) high-end amenities and more luxury accommodation. Recognising that going to university is now a huge investment, and that accommodation plays such a critical part in that, and is a key aspect of whether that student succeeds, is a huge responsibility.
We know from our extensive student survey results from Global Student Living and Investor in Students that a happy home creates a better learning environment, and there have been many articles and discussion pieces over the years outlining the extensive benefits to the overall university outcome of the residential experience. Investing in wellbeing, community, and resident engagement isn’t just a nice-to-have add-on or marketing gimmick, but a fundamental part of student satisfaction and success, as well as being a core driver of asset performance.
We recognised this many years ago, and we have invested heavily in the resident experience, both in terms of delivery with training and ethos, but also in tangible aspects, such as our multi-award-winning in-house developed resident experience app, KLIQ, which means our residents can create, drive, and directly interact with the specific experience and programme in each property.
Affordability & Regulation
How can the sector address increasing affordability pressures while maintaining viable and attractive returns?
What impact do you expect regulatory changes to have on the sector, and how should boards proactively respond?
Addressing affordability starts with delivering what students genuinely value, rather than adding features they don’t necessarily want. Operators should challenge assumptions about amenity provision and focus investment on the spaces and services that matter most, helping to keep costs down while maintaining an attractive proposition. Flexibility and adaptability will be key drivers of success over the coming years.
The biggest regulatory change we have seen in a long time is the Renters’ Rights Act in England, which followed a huge slew of regulations and legislation related to safety. Boards need to respond proactively by ensuring their technology and operational processes adapt quickly, making compliance as seamless as possible for both operational teams and students, and the operator is even more critical than ever in this regard.
Sustainability & Innovation
How is ESG influencing your decision-making at board level, and where do you see the biggest gaps or opportunities in the sector?
What role will technology and data play in shaping the next generation of student accommodation, from operations to resident engagement and sustainability?
Technology has shifted from being a differentiator to an expectation. Where high-speed wifi was once a key selling point, today’s students expect it, and expect technology to work seamlessly and invisibly. App-based maintenance, community platforms, smart access control, and real-time updates are no longer nice-to-haves or a sign of ‘premium’. The challenge for operators and investors is no longer whether to invest in technology, but how to integrate it in ways that genuinely enhance the resident experience.
For Homes for Students, technology is not about digitising processes; it’s about leveraging our extensive data to drive decisions and better outcomes for our residents. By bringing together operational, financial, sustainability, and resident insights, we gain a holistic view of performance across the entire portfolio, and we are able to optimise everything to enhance the resident experience, support our clients’ investment, deliver better performance, and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. Ultimately, the organisations that will lead the sector won’t be those with the most technology, but those that are able to turn data into meaningful insight and lasting value for customers and for investors
ESG principles are fundamental to our operations. At board level, we look at it through a number of lenses: environmental impact, energy and operating costs for our clients, future regulation and compliance, and the long-term value and performance of the building.
The social side is very important in PBSA – particularly in PBSA management where we don’t control the construction. We’re providing homes for students, so issues such as safety, wellbeing, skills, inclusion, community, accessibility, and opportunity are fundamental to the quality of the product and experience we provide.
For HFS, the biggest opportunity is moving beyond ESG as a reporting exercise and using it more actively to drive decisions such as influencing our clients for investment in existing buildings, reducing operational costs, lowering environmental impact, and improving operational efficiency.
Social value is integrated throughout our operations, with progress tracked via surveys, our in-house KLIQ app, employee data, and our social portal to monitor impact.
We’re also very proud to collaborate with many local and national organisations, participate in volunteer initiatives and provide all employees with paid days to volunteer for their own causes, and support regional social development to build stronger community ties.
One of the key areas where we can make an impact is with our emissions, and this is why we are moving forward into phase two of our Carbon Accounting project, which will inform where our emissions are and how we can improve for the benefit of our client base.
The biggest gap is probably consistency of data and measurement across the sector. We need better, more comparable metrics, particularly around social impact, so that we can demonstrate real outcomes rather than simply reporting activity.
Ultimately, we see ESG becoming less of a separate agenda and more of a core component of good business decision-making. The operators that can demonstrate measurable progress while also linking ESG to operational efficiency, asset resilience and a better student experience are likely to be best positioned for the future.
Thank you to Kate Forester, Group Managing Director, Homes for Students, for your insights.
This Q&A is part of a wider campaign featuring insights from senior UK student accommodation leaders. Discover more content from this series.