The City of Edinburgh Council recently approved the construction of 17 new, privately managed, purpose-built student accommodations (PBSA) throughout the city, with more set to follow. Upon completion, these developments will create over 4000 new rooms for Edinburgh’s growing student population.
At first glance, this seems like great news for the city’s notoriously competitive housing market, yet hardly anyone is rejoicing. Through conversations with PBSA residents, Edinburgh locals, neighbourhood representative boards, housing rights activists, and students, one thing became abundantly clear: everyone hates private student accommodation.
This raises the questions: why do we keep building more PBSA, who are the beneficiaries of these developments, and what measures can we take against them?
Our grievances start on a personal level, in the vibrant Brass Monkey pub about halfway between George Square and the King’s Buildings. Bartender Jenna shares with The Student that she is torn about a recently approved 172-bed PBSA just next door. Growing up just down the road, she witnessed the construction of numerous accommodations. While she appreciates that they “give people a chance to experience one of the nicest cities in the world,” her resentment is that “every single building is turned into student accommodation.” PBSA is increasingly replacing the public spaces she grew up with, which make Edinburgh so special in her eyes. The Grange Prestonfield Community Council, a local neighbourhood representative body, shares similar worries with The Student:
“We must balance [‘a duty of care to ensure students are welcomed’] against over-concentration of student accommodation developments, so that the place, space, amenity, and well-being of local residents are safeguarded.”
Dogmatic as they may sound, these concerns are justified, as the decision to build PBSA has a permanent effect on surrounding areas. In an interview with Slurp, a student-led society campaigning against student homelessness and related issues, campaigns member Emily tells The Student that “PBSA can bypass most planning laws, getting away with insufficient living space, insulation, and other basic requirements.” These exemptions make it hard to convert PBSA into regular housing or offices, seeing as “it’s actually illegal to place a family in these places.”
Student accommodations are also exempt from certain tenancy protections, meaning they “are the only developments that can utilise illegal short-term tenancies,” according to Emily. Landlords can therefore increase prices each time a new contract is made. According to a former resident, rent in Unite Students’ Salisbury Court has increased by 14 per cent over the last two years. A ‘standard en-suite room’ will cost incoming students £1213 per month for a ten-month tenancy starting in September. These contracts also allow Unite to exploit summer tourism, charging up to £450 per week during the Fringe.
Unsurprisingly, PBSA developers also have a strong foothold in national politics, ensuring that applications refused at the council win appeals on the national level. Simultaneously, there is a strong lobby against restrictions in the rental market, let alone bans on PBSA altogether.
Perversely, legal exemptions are what make PBSA lucrative for investors, and developers like Unite are taking full advantage of this. Overseeing nine properties in Edinburgh alone and hundreds more across the UK, the Unite Group PLC is a financial machine designed to maximise shareholder value.
Second-year student Max from the Edinburgh University Trading and Investment Club tells The Student that “Unite is also exploiting the growing number of affluent international students in Edinburgh,” enabling them to pay large, steady dividends of around seven per cent. He adds that their high returns tend to attract large, institutional funds seeking low-risk investment opportunities. It doesn’t take much digging to find the likes of BlackRock and Vanguard in Unite’s list of biggest investors.
Growing student numbers are certainly part of the problem, with University of Edinburgh enrolment numbers increasing from 35000 to 49000 over the past ten years. Meanwhile, the University has even sold off some of its own accommodation. Emily says they have been campaigning “for the University to provide an emergency accommodation guarantee for all students.” Such a guarantee would likely bring down accommodation prices because it would “help students in precarious situations that are forcing them into overpriced PBSA, […] alleviating pressure on the entire rental market.” Still, progress has been slow over the past few years, especially under Peter Mathieson’s financially conservative leadership of the University.
Instead, students have found creative ways to avoid PBSA. For example, the Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative has proven to be a successful model for more affordable and equitable housing. Here, 106 students co-own and run two properties facing the Meadows, cutting out predatory landlords and investors. While difficult to set up, co-operatives are a proven model that has been replicated in other UK cities.
If the University, the Council, and legislation won’t budge, perhaps grassroots projects like the Housing Co-op are our best shot at bringing down the wrongs that PBSA represents.
Image by Mark Chan for The Student