A group called SAPRS – for Student Accredited Private Rental Sector – claims the Labour government “does not care about students.”

SAPRS describes itself as a coalition of second- and third-year student accommodation providers and it claims that a survey of the public suggests 66% believe that the government does not care about students.

As part of the Renters Rights Bill – which went through its final stages in the Commons yesterday – the government plans to end fixed-term tenancy agreements for private student housing. 

Higher education organisations like Universities UK and the Higher Education Policy Institute have warned that such a move would threaten the availability, affordability, and quality of student housing.

The coalition’s data also suggests 54% of the public believe that the university sector is in a bad state. 

SAPRS claims that student housing relies on fixed-term tenancy agreements that have successfully balanced student and landlord needs by aligning with university term times and ensuring landlords have security of tenure each year. 

It warns that by dismantling this model, the Bill risks reducing housing availability, creating uncertainty for students and disrupting a well-functioning rental market.

Amendments to preserve fixed-term tenancies for the sector in the Bill were rejected by the government. 

A supplier called StuRents already predicts a 490,000-bed student housing shortfall by 2026. This is coupled with a recent government survey of landlords which shows that 48% were unwilling to let to students even without the Bill which will further disincentivise landlords from letting to students.

A SAPRS spokesperson comments: “This research illustrates the widespread concern about the state of the higher education system, of which the supply and cost of attending and living at university plays a central role. The Government must amend the Bill to avoid further dismantling the student housing sector and deliver a better and more secure deal for students across the country”.