Representatives from Northern Ireland’s two universities have told Belfast Council there is a big move from private rented houses to purpose built student accommodation blocks.
At Belfast City Council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee this week, Ulster University and Queen’s University reps gave a deputation on the importance of students and student accommodation in Belfast.
Councillors were told that, contrary to general opinion, the new student blocks were seen as better value than HMOs [house in multiple occupation] by students and their parents, and that the trend showed a significant move away from areas such as the Holyland, which has seen a fall in student numbers of 35 percent.
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HMOs, which landlords lease out to three or more tenants from different addresses, have become controversial, with some arguing they have negatively affect communities and led to anti-social behaviour in places like the Holyland and Stranmillis in South Belfast where landlords rent houses to undergraduates.
Belfast currently has a student population of around 45,000 full time students, which represents approximately 14 percent of the city’s population. The majority of students are studying at Queens and Ulster University, with the remainder at Stranmillis, St Mary’s and Belfast Met.
The relocation of Ulster University from the Jordanstown Campus to the new Belfast City Centre Campus this year has started a major regeneration in the north of the city centre with the creation of new purpose built student accommodation, most notably multi storey student blocks. These are set to increase in frequency as demand rises, the meeting was told.
The local/international breakdown for purpose built student accommodation in Belfast amounts to 20 percent international and Republic of Ireland to 80 percent local with Ulster University compared to a 50/50 percent split between local and international with Queen’s University. This is reflective of the overall local/international ratios of each university.
Amanda Castrey of Ulster University told the committee: “We are currently updating our independent demand study - initially in December 2021 it was indicated we needed an additional 1,700 beds in Belfast to meet just the demand from our first years, and we see growing demand from our returning students.”
Representatives from both universities are stating the city needs another 6,000 rooms for students.
Alliance Councillor Mickey Murray said: “I get the argument from the universities in purpose built student accommodation that you include wi-fi, electricity etc. The accommodation however is only over nine months. If you are renting in the Holylands you have the property for 11 months to a year - a lot of students like having that freedom, and also the freedom of not having someone there watching them. And £250 a room per month is a lot more attractive than £100 a week. Is there anything going on to reduce the fees for the purpose built student accommodation?”
Caroline Young of Queen’s University told the committee: “First and foremost, there is no let-up in demand. The students want to live in purpose built student accommodation, and we are seeing that across the board. I think there is this view that purpose built student accommodation is more expensive than the private sector. We have done quite a bit of work to show that is actually not the case.
“We don’t believe, and our research is not telling us, that students want to live in the private sector and pay for 12 months when they are not using it. They want to pay for accommodation when they need to use it.”
She added: “We have accommodation starting from £3,400 a year, and that is some of the very best all inclusive accommodation. So there are no bills, and we know that is something our students really do appreciate. They are not having to worry about wi-fi, and the cost of energy they are facing. We need to be clear about the reality of what we are seeing and the reality of the demand.”
She said: “It is not the case that our accommodation is significantly more expensive. It is actually cheaper when you add in all the other bills.”
She added: “There has been a 35 percent reduction in students living in the Holyland. It is significant. And alongside that, the Department for Infrastructure and the Department for Communities are taking over a number of properties in the Holyland.”
Duncan Morrow of Ulster University told the committee: “The evidence of the shift in demand is quite stark. Although we have increased purpose built student accommodation in the last three or four years by over 100 percent, we have still seen all of them full. And still we anticipate there will be even more demand. The argument that is proving too expensive with students is not borne out.
“Secondly we are seeing a decline in numbers living in the private sector in some parts of the Holyland - that is an area which is becoming more mixed in nature. We believe the living quality proposition in purpose built student accommodation is also attractive to students, not only in the quality of the rooms and so on, but also with some of the safety issues, and some of the issues around community life.
“We are certainly not interested in creating accommodation that will lie empty.”
He added: “We don’t want our students to be living entirely isolated or in a ghetto environment. We want them to be living in a fully integrated city. So there is a big discussion about planning, which is not in the university’s gift.”
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