Overwhelmed and under-stocked, the student rental market is on the verge of reaching breaking point. This strong statement emerged in research from property developer Stripe Property Group which revealed that there are now three students for every student bed available.

According to the study, there are now 2,180,419 full-time university students across the UK, 8% more than there were prior to the pandemic (2019/20). At the same time, there are just 697,734 student beds available to them and while this has been steadily increasing, the number of beds has grown by just 6% when compared to pre-pandemic levels.

As a result, there are now 3.1 students for every one bed available to them, up from 3 students for every one bed in 2019/20. That’s a current shortfall of almost 1.5m student beds to meet the demand required across purpose-built student accommodation.

Here at Dynamo, we’re seeing more landlords carefully assessing the pros and cons of new builds with an eye on a more energy efficient future for their portfolios. By this I mean in light of the government’s plan for a compulsory energy performance certificate rating of 'C' on new tenancies by December 2025, and on all rented properties by December 2028. Although, it’s prudent to point out this is not yet set in stone.

This plan has also resulted in a huge amount of talk about how much existing upgrades may cost and with the bulk of portfolios containing large levels of older property types, then landlords have to take these potential costs into account. A factor which is especially relevant as well over two-thirds of landlords reportedly still own rental properties with an EPC rating of D or below.

As cost-of-living pressures continue to build, a growing number of tenants are looking to balance the combined impact of rising rents and escalating running costs. Meaning the appeal of flats and energy-efficient houses is set to rise further in 2023.

The student population and landlords who have built portfolios to incorporate a large element of student lets and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in and around university towns and cities across the UK have not had it easy over the past few years. Thankfully, schools and universities are now largely back to ‘normal’ and just about to start, or have started, the new academic year.

To coincide with this, Paragon Bank has revealed the locations where landlords letting to students can achieve the strongest yields. Analysing mortgage applications for properties located in popular student postcodes, the lender found that landlords providing student accommodation in towns or cities with just one university typically achieve the highest yields.

It’s fair to say that professional portfolio landlords are dominating the current BTL market as the number of ‘amateur’ landlords has slowly dwindled on the back of tax and legislative changes.

Landlords build portfolios in a variety of different ways over contrasting periods of time. Many professional landlords may have started their journey as more accidental ones but came to appreciate the potential of the BTL sector. Others may have entered this arena with a more structured and scalable plan and then there are some who have the ability to acquire whole portfolios in one fell swoop.

I can’t imagine there are too many transactions in the history of the UK property market which have completed within the ‘expected’ timescale, without any queries or without any combination of doubt, concern, stress, anxiety and complexity. Each and every transaction has their own quirks and this is driven by a multifaced process which contains many moving parts. Parts which include their own set of influencing factors. Then there’s the emotion of the vendors/buyers to take into account, plus the heavy financial burden and, importantly, a lack of knowledge around the purchase process.