High-quality student accommodation urgently required in Manchester

The number of sub-standard student lets on the market has indicated the urgent need for new, high-quality student-dedicated developments.

According to a study by the National Union of Students (NUS), 42% of those they asked are living with damp and walls with growing mould, whilst one in five students report pests including mice, rats and slugs in their properties.

Furthermore, 16% reported electrical hazards and 9% said there were concerns over their property’s gas safety.

Most worrying, 17% of those asked said the condition of their student home had caused an existing health problem to worsen, whilst over one in 10 said conditions had actually brought on a new health issue they hadn’t had before moving in.

NUS vice president, Eva Crossan Jory said of the findings that: “Some students are living in appalling circumstances, in some of the worst housing stock in the country. For too long, they have been taken advantage of by bad landlords who rely on students not knowing their rights, or what to expect, when they rent their first home.

“We are calling for better enforcement of the law to protect tenants’ rights because it’s no use educating tenants about their rights if landlords aren’t forced to improve standards.”

Student demand helping city growth

Being able to safely and comfortably house students has a far wider-reaching impact than the purely the general health and happiness of the students themselves.

The increasing number of students arriving and also settling in cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Coventry has seen a surge in the construction of new student-specific developments, often on the luxury end of the spectrum.

And aside from purely providing roofs over students’ heads, new development also paves the way to new the creation of new micro-neighbourhoods. In fact, cities including Coventry have benefited from student development forming the spearhead of regeneration efforts in the city.

A spokesperson for the council in 2016 noted that: “If you came here four or five years ago, post-recession, there was no buzz in the city centre. But since 2013, there have been more people around, more bars open, more restaurants open.

Read more: Student landlords in Manchester enjoy highest yields in the UK

“Students are the advanced guard of creating that activity, that buzz. They help make it easier to persuade other businesses and investors there is something going on here.”

For city planners, it’s a no brainer. Being able to offer more and better quality New Build Homes in Manchester helps attract the best learners to the city, supporting the local universities and learning centres -  not to mention businesses.

And the effects of a strong student culture are long-term, with a growing talent base attracting new businesses, especially in the creative and technology spaces as seen in Manchester.