Redefining Student Housing: The Urgent Need for Flexibility in a Post-Covid World

At The Property Marketing Strategists, we talk a lot about flexibility and how traditionally, this has not been offered to consumers - particularly within the student housing market. Contracts are fixed, 42- or 52-week agreements and very few properties can offer anything in between. 

Of course, we know that many do – but the preference and model, understandably, focus on securing a long-term contract. 

Then Covid hit, and whilst the research overwhelmingly tells us that students want to return to education and experience the full student lifestyle. There is still the option of hybrid learning, which means that their learning schedule may afford some flexibility in how and where they live their student life. 

We know from The Student Room’s – The Covid Cohort research that 96% of them want to keep some form of lockdown life. Of course, the most significant parts are the flexibility to study and live where and when they want. 

As marketers, we believe in delivering what a customer wants. As marketing strategists, we also want to be pushing the boundaries of making the product deliver even more. Who doesn’t want to be the disruptor in the marketplace? Will student accommodation operators and PBSA providers start to struggle by continuing to try and push their now square customers into round holes?

But a lot needs to happen for this to work. First and not least, we need to look at planning. So many student rooms are built on planning consents which restrict use to full-time university students. If society chooses to live more flexibly, then housing will need to adjust. We are delighted to hear of a recent planning application in Cardiff which successfully argued for a temporary change of use for a wing of a student accommodation block from student accommodation (sui generis) to dual-use for either student accommodation or professional serviced apartments (Class C1).

In this case, it was a one-year change, bridging the gap for when student numbers will stabilise post-pandemic. But if planning laws can be adjusted to enable non-students access, then we should be able to look at how we can provide access for ‘all’ students. So, students who want a long-term contract can stay with students who may wish to stay for a term or travel to and from university on the days they have in-person lectures. 

Equally, with online learning, study and conferences all becoming far more acceptable, students can be lots of things. They may not be affiliated with a traditional brick and mortar university, or they may be learning alongside earning – such as apprenticeships. But they are still learning to build their future and to benefit the future of our society. Is it not possible to give a generation that has lost so much of their youth in the last few years (and, let’s face it, they will be the ones paying for the fall out of this last couple of years), an unrivalled networking, open and flexible living option – however they choose to learn? 

This flexibility argument goes on to what we always say around Build To Rent and CoLiving. The lifestyle, brand relationships and trust of the PBSA and student accommodation sector – is the rock-bed of a young person's first step into being an independent adult. It is a unique relationship and one that really can last a lifetime. How often do we all regale stories of our 90s student experiences (whilst for us it may have been damp rooms, stoking the lounge fire to keep the heating costs down or dealing with running to the communal phone in the hallway) – we all have stories to tell and friends that we met that are still friends today. 

For this generation, it can be the networks they discovered, the businesses they started and the technology they built – none of which needs to end when they leave university. 

Flexibility in buildings. Is it time now?

We think it is, but we are not naive to think it will be easy. It will take a brave provider to remove 42-week contracts. It will take communication and work with the government/councils on both planning and council tax laws. It will need a constant relationship with our educational institutes.

But the time is now. The question is, who will take it?

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