Accommodation For Students survey
A recent survey by Accommodation For Students gained insights from students about their experiences with finding accommodation as a Higher Education student.
Whilst the experience of finding accommodation is different for everyone, a lot of students tend to find themselves in similar situations. Students often find searching for accommodation to be stressful, especially for their first year. This anxiety tends to stem from limited information being available online, tight application timelines, not being able to view rooms or properties in person, apprehension over moving to a new area, limited accommodation options, or feeling overwhelmed by options and finding it difficult to compromise between affordability and amenities.
Overall, many students are scared of making the wrong choice as they feel it could impact their whole university experience.
The study showed that influence affects a student’s accommodation choice and changes between their first and second year of university. In first year, the main influences are online reviews, opinions of parents and college counsellors. Whereas, in second year, students are still influenced by online reviews but take their social cues from friends and people that have lived in that property or area before.
Throughout the research undertaken by AFS, there were eight main insights that provided depth into the accommodation decisions made by students throughout their university experience:
Insight 1: Students need a simple way to see a property’s location and its proximity to the university and local amenities
Interviews with students for this report showed that having a simple way to see a property for new students (and especially those studying internationally) was important so that they could be aware of the distance to university and local amenities before booking their spot. Most respondents admitted that they rely on and use Google Maps for this.
A close proximity (within a 20-minute walk) was a key priority for most students interviewed. They also appreciated having an accurate description of distances as well as the different transport options available. Nearby amenities such as supermarkets, gyms and NHS services were also key factors in decision making.
Location is still important for students looking for second-year accommodation, however, they tend to know the area a bit better themselves.
Insight 2: Students are heavily reliant on, and influenced by, the reviews and recommendations of other students
New students search online to find reviews, information and reassurance they need of specific accommodation options and locations - with Reddit, Student Room, Student Crowd and YouTube being the most popular platforms. One of the repeated complaints was the lack of reviews, as well as outdated and limited information.
A factor that made searching for accommodation much less stressful the second time around was talking to students who had previously lived at that accommodation. Such advice is heavily relied upon from second year students and was noted to increase the confidence to proceed with accommodation applications.
As a result, one of the top responses when asked how to make accommodation finding easier, was to increase the number of opportunities to connect with current residents.
Insight 3: Visual content needs to be varied and of high quality to enable students to make a confident decision
For international students especially, comprehensive visual content is paramount when unable to view in-person.
Typically, there is some confusion over whether photos published on online sites are displaying a generic room type option or the actual room.
As well as good-quality room photos, students also want to see photos of communal areas, kitchens, shared kitchens and the outside of buildings. Videos are also incredibly helpful when they’re available.
International students will struggle to get a sense of the size of the room from photos or videos and have a degree of mistrust of photos or videos making the rooms look longer than what they actually are.
Insight 4: safety and security is important and students need more reassurances through the process
Safety and security is key for new students, especially internationals and is a primary concern for parents involved in the process. For internationals who are unfamiliar with the local area, safety and security is an important guarantee as they are unable to view the property in person most of the time. Reassurance is important for students that will be living far from home.
Accommodation providers and landlords are up against the perception held by some students that landlords are ‘dodgy and unreliable.’ Therefore, it’s in the interest of providers to challenge that perception and help build trust as much as they can.
Students are looking for reassurances on accommodation sites and elsewhere online that properties and areas are safe.
Students listed 24/7 reception, staff on site, constant CCTV, maintenance teams and fire safety assurances as reassuring factors. Some choose university halls for first year assuming them to be the safest option. For second-year students, safety and security also drives interest towards PBSA options for their accommodation.
Insight five: students find it complicated to keep track of and co-ordinate multiple enquiries and viewings, especially as a group
Where available, students commented on the usefulness of shortlists, comparison tools and account areas to keep track of enquiries (e.g. Rightmove)
Students searching for second year accommodation found the organisation of their property search with friends cumbersome and overly complex. Information was often held in different places and with different people in the group, rather than consolidated.
Against a feeling of pressure to move fast, students felt the process being slowed by poor organisation and communication was particularly frustrating.
Insight six: students can feel poorly treated by landlords and letting agents
Common causes of frustration are:
- Unresponsiveness to communication,
- Viewing no-shows,
- Waiting for multiple offers to come in before deciding,
- Property information not being up to date,
- Errors in pricing (that one student suspected was intentional)
Being provided with a landlord phone number was appreciated as students said, ‘they got back to you sooner than sending an enquiry’, helpfulness of landlords and quick responses looks good in the eyes of students and also helps them become more efficient during their house hunting search.
For students searching for second year house shares, frustration with landlords impacted trust and added more stress to the process. Trust was also impacted by a feeling of being taken advantage of by letting agents.
Insight seven: cost is a major consideration and can cause confusion to some students
For some students looking for first year accommodation, some commented that they budgeted having worked out the price range of accommodation available rather than starting with a budget in mind. Where there was a lack of clarity on contract length, or flexibility in this area students were unclear on how that would affect cost.
Cost consistently comes up as a key factor in decision-making, especially influencing the decision to house share for second year.
Whilst cost is important, most students spoke of the need to weigh cost with other factors, and needing more help with comparing properties to decide where and how to make compromises.
Insight eight: students need more information on what their accommodation options are, and guides to help them through the process
Especially going into first year accommodation, some students make the assumption that student halls is the only option. It was also realised that students needed more guidance on options for second year accommodation. With students requesting a guide (online or leaflet) to include details of key types of accommodation , average costs, what to consider.
Some students didn’t feel fully informed of the options available to them. There can also be a degree of urgency, especially when looking for second year accommodation, meaning students feel they need to make decisions quickly and so need guidance and information easily accessible.
