My understanding is that halls of residence are more expensive than private accommodation.

U.K. origin students tend to go to halls of residence in first year and pay the premium. Gives the student an opportunity to get to meet other students and provides peace of mind for parents. As students move to later years, they often find private accommodation which can be cheaper.

International students (there is a large contingent of wealthy Chinese), often stay in halls of residence for their whole university life.

The onboarding process for halls is designed for students, so that they can make a holding deposit early in the year before starting and are only contracted if they get their place on their course, which is not confirmed until August time, a few weeks before term starts. Private landlords, in many cities where supply is tight, require deposits much earlier and it doesn’t really work well because of the late confirmation of a course place. Another reason for the popularity of halls, as offered by Unite.

The advantage of halls is the certainty of having accommodation, the shared spaces and the selection of rooms set ups to cater for different budgets.

I would say halls are more expensive but not hugely and they are much more suitable for the first years and foreign students.

I actually doubled my position today. I like the idea both from a numbers perspective and the narrative around trends which are generally favourable.

A good discussion.