Student Flats

Better student flats then student housing overwhelming areas of family housing.

DDiL's mother lives on a very pleasant estate of 1960s houses, detached houses, semis and bungalows, built at a time when even standard 3 bedroomed houses came on large landscaped plots. There is a primary school close by and a secondary school immediately adjacent. She has lived there since they were built.

The local university has established a new campus, just across the main road from this estate and gradually many of the houses are being bought up by buy-to-let-to-students owners, who because the space is there, extend them to provide rooms for up to 8 students and their cars.

What was a really attractive estate, with all the facilities to attract and provide for families is now a student colony, with the noise and cars that makes the area unattractive to families. The local council has finally drawn a stop to these houses going into multiple occupancy, but it is a bit late as many of the houses with extensions are no longer suitable for family occupation.

My DGD supplemented her income during the holidays by taking on maintenance work for her landlord. When cleaning up after the departure of other students, she was absolutely horrified at the state they left the houses in. While she was still applying for jobs after graduation, she took up cleaning jobs. I wish she still lived near to me! What are parents thinking of, letting their offspring - both male and female - go off to Uni with so little clue about looking after their accommodation? I'd have been very embarrassed if DS had been so messy.
Oh and another reason for en suite bathrooms in student halls of residence is that the majority of them are now unisex.

Many student rooms have ensuites because the accomodation is used for conference attendees and so on out of term time. Given the high rentals charged, I'd expect a minimum standard, quite honestly, and not a hovel.

Witzend I totally agree. My stepsons have one maisonette near the uni which they let to 5 students through an agent. Come July, they go in to sort it out and make sure all is working, then let stepsons know what needs fixing. (Hard to do sometimes as there is always one of the students late in moving out LOL).

This agent does not put up with damage, but they charge stepsons 9% of the rent. It's been worth it, otherwise the place would be a horror as things would be left to slide and there are dangers as you say from electrics, etc.

Too much development of all types going on everywhere. There are tonnes of unsold houses and flats around here, but still they are building on every corner, sometimes in the most inappropriate places, there are no schools or work place accommodation for these new homes and nowhere to build any, indeed our latest tend is to demolish schools for housing land and convert offices to flats. It's short sighted unsightly and unwanted by anyone here but there's a target to increase properties - why? My daughter did Uni in a shared house - roughing it is part of the student experience - ensuite - I don't have one I wouldn't be paying for the kids to.

Annodomini wi fi is not a luxury it is a necessity. Work has to be 'word processed' and submitted electronically otherwise it does not count towards a degree. No wi fi no degree.

21 years ago, my DS2 spent his first year at University in a hall of residence and in second year lived with 7 other students in a purpose-built University flat (8 bedrooms and communal living space, kitchens and bathrooms). GD also had a year in a hall and then shared a house with a group of other girls for the next two years.Students nowadays are quite fussy - en suite shower rooms are not uncommon and wi-fi connection almost obligatory. Back in the stone age (almost 60 years ago) when I was in a hall, we had never even heard the term 'en suite'!

The student accomodation at DD's university is used for conferences and such like during the vacations, which all adds to the University's income.

When my DD was a student albeit it some 27 years ago, it seems like yesterday, she couldn't get into halls, we had to pay for her accommodation in full for the duration of the academic year and then a retainer for the holiday weeks. She did get housing benefit for a little while but only her first year. She couldn't get halls for the duration of her course.

Any of these towns Portsmouth?

Usually students spend first year in halls and after that they look for rented property some of my friends children have bought there children property and let it out to other students too so they share.

We are not getting student flats but we are getting houses on every field any spare grass causing a lot of traffic problems and very overcrowded schools

I wonder whether more students might decide to go to a local university and live at home as we did in the early sixties, although there were far fewer universities then. Nowadays there are so many that most areas have one in commuting distance. It would be a lot less expensive.

These purpose-built student blocks of flats are built by private developers and, at least in central London, they are extremely expensive. Many students can't afford to live in them and have to put up with less expensive (but often still exorbitant) private accommodation which is quite frequently sub-standard.

Our town is also over run with student accommodation. Also bars, shops and entertainment geared at students. There is nothing in our City Centre to encourage older people to go into the City. We keep our City going by paying our Council Tax - students to not pay council tax - but apparently they spend more (and then grumble about the size of their student debt),

Our town is being overrun too, but by normal housing developments...in every single direction. There is no way the schools or facilities or roads or parking can sustain it.

Lewlew, to put the other side, my DD1 and her friends had a couple of truly appalling student landlords - so much in one house was shockingly unsafe, inc. electrics, and she literally screamed abuse at them if they asked her to fix anything. In the end the council came round and made a long list of repairs she had to do - more than her tenants had ever asked for - within 6 weeks, or they'd do it and give her the bill.

And both dds had student LLs who thought it their right to automatically keep the entire deposit, even though the place was no grottier than when they moved in.

I know there are good student LLs - dds did have the odd one - but there are too many of the other sort, too.

Same where I live. I live in a large sea side town and our local university is getting larger every year. Despite the stupidity of Brexit we will still get foreign students , most are given a student's study visa . We are also getting loads of student accommodation flats being built . My son went to uni in Devon , at the last moment we were told there weren't enough students halls available. As we live closer we would have to get private accommodation. This resulted in a dash around the area to get him somewhere to live.
I don't mind having a large uni here, we are a holiday town after all and we need the revenue lots of young people bring.

There are quite a number of new student flats around here. I believe they're relatively expensive, compared to the traditional rather grotty shared student house, and I think are aimed largely at foreign students, of which there are plenty locally.

Consolidated student flats are what parents/student want now, with kitchen facilities, laundry, etc. Especially the international students. We have a whole new complex of them here in Bristol. Our local Wilkinsons changes their whole store layout in Sept/Oct when the student arrive, for household goods.

The council loves these as they are getting students out of private flats, where they cannot collect council tax, and into commercial buildings. And the private landlords are fed up with student damage and are doing over their properties to let at higher rates to the ' generation rent' who cannot get on the property ladder. Neighbours of students are fed up with the mess and noise. Piles of vomit on the pavement in the morning, overflowing rubbish, cans, bottles, etc piling up in front or rear spaces outside. They seem to ignore using recycle bins and stuff their wheelie bins with lids left open and they stink to high heaven. We had rats in our area from this. Ugh.

I have to say, though for these new builds... there should be a balance as to how the flats look and fit into the area and not dominate. The council and residents should have had some say.

On the other hand... universities are vital to cities and towns. In the 2008 crash... we were OK being a two uni city as there are so many businesses that students use (aside from pubs!)

I live in one of the most deprived area in the UK. Anyone lucky enough to be in work is on minimum wage and for every job vacacy at the last count 25 applicants (most work in call centres 10 miles away in Manchester). Recently the local council's housing section (now officially a "Mutual Housing Society") had two roads of housing pulled down and rebuilt as private/co-ownership housing. Another 3 private sites, including the best primary school in the area, bulldozed for yet more privately owned houses. Guess what - no-one local can afford them, less social housing available for those in need and greedy householders making a huge profit on private lettings of ex-council housing at vastly inflated rents. Makes me wild! Grrrr

Halls of residence are built by private developers and approved by the university for the use of their students (first year only). The university doesn't own or run them. Neither does the council.
There has been cases where the developer has built such accommodation which has then been rejected by the university and the developer has been left with a white elephant that was impossible to sell on due to the specific nature of the accommodation ie six bedsits sharing one kitchen.

If you're where I think you are I agree totally. There are 2 new blocks within 100 yards of one another. One thing though, they are private developers not Council owned. Indeed one of the blocks was sold by the Council last year for conversion to student flats. Helped the cash strapped Council budget no doubt!

Most unis only provide halls for first year then they have to move into horribly overpriced private shared houses. That is why they are being built, and the students pay rent from July to June, even though the academic year is September to end May. Work that one out. Would love to know how many Mps have shareholding in these exploitative properties. Also, student properties do not have to have so many parking places provided, no playgrounds etc so are cheaper to build.

Also, some of the blocks are either occupied all year or they're available in holidays for conferences etc.