Getting them used to it while they’re young I suppose.
edinburghs rentals are fucked, my sister just left and trying to help her sort a gaff was mental
Many universities have been expanding rapidly over the last decade, with no real plan for actually housing them – they’re certainly not building university owned halls of residence as quickly as they should.
I see this every year on Spareroom – the local ex poly brings in enormous numbers of postgrad students from developing nations. They don’t offer them housing, and they are given entirely unrealistic expectations of housing (“I want to live with male students aged 24-26, straights only, no pets, and my budget is £200pcm”).
It adds a great level of stress onto the local housing market, and leaves students, especially international ones, incredibly vulnerable.
Now, between increased student numbers, tax changes and the mortgage interest rates, the shit is starting to hit the fan.
For 2010, Edinburgh University alone had 28,394 students.
By 2023, they had 49,065 students
Edinburgh Napier and Herriot Watt will have similar patterns.
It’s no wonder the rental market is creaking under the weight.
Universities shouldn’t be able to offer placements in excess of what the local housing market can absorb.
>He said: “The student housing crisis is just one part of the wider housing crisis – a lack of housing, a lack of accessible housing and how expensive housing is.
Is it time to eat the nimbys yet? How much longer do we need to wait?
I’ve just moved this month into Edinburgh for a one year postgrad course and would completely believe this. I was at Aberdeen University before and moved to be closer to family rather and the differences is a absolute shock to the system.
My course had a late confirmation date for places, about start of July so could only really look for flats after that and the market here Is crazy. Way higher and restrictive than anywhere else in Scotland.
To start with you’ve got to make full applications detailing your full history and reasons for moving etc. this doesn’t confirm you’ll get anywhere, you are just bidding for viewings with are massively oversubscribed and if you get one you basically need to take it immediately. Even if you do get one rents are high, can easily be 1.2k+ for a 2 bed. So about £600 a person not including bills. This can often be some grim basement tenement flat that hasn’t been touched in 20 years. I only get the minimum loan which equals £450 a month so would need to find a way to make up the shortfall if I was doing that. There is a decent amount of third party accomodations but they can easily be significantly more expensive.
I imagine the situation is a bit different for undergrad but on my course at least a significant proportion of people have to commute from out of Edinburgh as a result. I know someone who drives down from Dundee each day. I was until recently living with my parents and commuting from Stirling as I just could not get a viewing for anywhere even at the £1.4k range.
The solution I ended up with is one that almost everyone doesn’t have, where my parents bought a flat as an investment with the view that I would be paying them a rental sum/buy it off them in the future, when my guaranted job starts at the end of the course. Even then for the price of the 2bed flat we got out in west of Edinburgh you could have bought a three bed actual house in Aberdeen.
I can only imagine how difficult this would be if you were a foreign student trying to navigate this. Edinburgh Council recently announced a housing crisis so we will need to wait to see what they do(if anything)
6 comments
Getting them used to it while they’re young I suppose.
edinburghs rentals are fucked, my sister just left and trying to help her sort a gaff was mental
Many universities have been expanding rapidly over the last decade, with no real plan for actually housing them – they’re certainly not building university owned halls of residence as quickly as they should.
I see this every year on Spareroom – the local ex poly brings in enormous numbers of postgrad students from developing nations. They don’t offer them housing, and they are given entirely unrealistic expectations of housing (“I want to live with male students aged 24-26, straights only, no pets, and my budget is £200pcm”).
It adds a great level of stress onto the local housing market, and leaves students, especially international ones, incredibly vulnerable.
Now, between increased student numbers, tax changes and the mortgage interest rates, the shit is starting to hit the fan.
For 2010, Edinburgh University alone had 28,394 students.
By 2023, they had 49,065 students
Edinburgh Napier and Herriot Watt will have similar patterns.
It’s no wonder the rental market is creaking under the weight.
https://www.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/atoms/files/uoe_annual_report_and_accounts_2012-13.pdf
https://www.ed.ac.uk/finance/accounts
Universities shouldn’t be able to offer placements in excess of what the local housing market can absorb.
>He said: “The student housing crisis is just one part of the wider housing crisis – a lack of housing, a lack of accessible housing and how expensive housing is.
Is it time to eat the nimbys yet? How much longer do we need to wait?
I’ve just moved this month into Edinburgh for a one year postgrad course and would completely believe this. I was at Aberdeen University before and moved to be closer to family rather and the differences is a absolute shock to the system.
My course had a late confirmation date for places, about start of July so could only really look for flats after that and the market here Is crazy. Way higher and restrictive than anywhere else in Scotland.
To start with you’ve got to make full applications detailing your full history and reasons for moving etc. this doesn’t confirm you’ll get anywhere, you are just bidding for viewings with are massively oversubscribed and if you get one you basically need to take it immediately. Even if you do get one rents are high, can easily be 1.2k+ for a 2 bed. So about £600 a person not including bills. This can often be some grim basement tenement flat that hasn’t been touched in 20 years. I only get the minimum loan which equals £450 a month so would need to find a way to make up the shortfall if I was doing that. There is a decent amount of third party accomodations but they can easily be significantly more expensive.
I imagine the situation is a bit different for undergrad but on my course at least a significant proportion of people have to commute from out of Edinburgh as a result. I know someone who drives down from Dundee each day. I was until recently living with my parents and commuting from Stirling as I just could not get a viewing for anywhere even at the £1.4k range.
The solution I ended up with is one that almost everyone doesn’t have, where my parents bought a flat as an investment with the view that I would be paying them a rental sum/buy it off them in the future, when my guaranted job starts at the end of the course. Even then for the price of the 2bed flat we got out in west of Edinburgh you could have bought a three bed actual house in Aberdeen.
I can only imagine how difficult this would be if you were a foreign student trying to navigate this. Edinburgh Council recently announced a housing crisis so we will need to wait to see what they do(if anything)