Rising Rents and Rogue Landlords: Navigating the Student Housing Crisis

by Melissandre St Hilaire

From choosing which stranger to live with to dodging tricky landlords, students once again brace themselves for the next house-hunting season. However, this year’s cohort may just have to up their game, warns recent Zoopla reports noting an 11% rent price increase in just 2024-2025 alone – championing the 1.6% rise in London, 2.4% in Wales and 1.7% in Scotland [1]. Belfast has always seemed to avoid the crippling rental boom that has pushed many out of major cities across the UK, offering a relatively affordable cost of living. Yet in July 2025, estate agents commented that prospective tenants looking to move in before the new school semester began were 9.1% higher than in the same month in the previous year, especially in popular areas such as Botanic Avenue, Stranmillis and the Holylands. This suggests that students who begin looking earlier are more likely to secure reasonably priced and well-located accommodation.

Reasons behind the surge in price come down to a host of factors, one of which is attributable to an ever-growing student population of over 70,000, with more than 30,000 studying full-time. Despite this, there is a significant shortage of available beds in the city’s purpose-built student accommodation (PBSAs), offering only 6000 beds recorded in 2021 [2], escalating the competition by forcing too many into the private rental sector. Since then, the city has dedicated investment into PBSAs and has since dubbed the sector a “stellar performer” as a viable business prospect, but still, the demand in Belfast “is now one of the largest full-time student populations in the UK outside London”. [3] 

Other factors point to the wider cost-of-living crisis that Gen-Z knows all too well. Both domestic and international students are increasingly choosing where to pursue their university education based on affordability. Consequently, students are gravitating towards cheaper cities such as Belfast over more expensive hubs like London and Dublin. 

Students interviewed around Queen’s campus have raised concerns about the lack of improvement in housing quality, despite the rental price increases. The most frequently mentioned issue was the persistence of mould in rooms and communal living spaces, as well as faulty facili- ties and unresponsive landlords – the notorious ‘broke student’ lifestyle has become more severe.

The Renters’ Rights Act, passed last year, may signal positive changes to hit the largely unregulated student housing sector. The new act has not avoided criticism, though, as any landlord letting out a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), which makes up the vast majority of student property, is required to provide a minimum four-month notice period. 

As a result, landlords are unable to regain possession of their properties until the first week of September if notice is served in June, the typical timeframe for informing students and re-letting to the next cohort. This creates a critical gap, compressing an already limited supply of student housing into a very narrow window, intensifying the competition [4].

References:

[1] Donnell, Richard. “Rental Market Report: September 2024 – Zoopla.” Zoopla.co.uk, September 16, 2024. https://www.zoopla.co.uk/discover/property-news/rental-market-report/

[2] Belfast City Council. “Investing in Belfast’s Future: A Real Estate Research Report – Purpose-Built Student Accommodation.” Belfast City Council, 2021. https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/InvestInBelfast/Connections/Resources/Investing-in-Belfasts-Future/A-Real-Estate-Research-Report/Purpose-built-student-accommodation

[3] Belfast City Council. “Belfast Region Investment Guide 2025 – Real Estate Market Insight.” Belfast City Council, 2025. https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/investinbelfast/connections/resources/belfast-region-investment-guide-2025/belfast-region-investment-guide-2025/real-estate-market-insight

[4] NRLA. “Renters’ Rights Act: Students to Lose out under New Reforms | NRLA.” Nrla.org.uk, 2025. https://www.nrla.org.uk/news/renters-rights-act-student-housing-reforms-risk-shutting-the-door-on-opportunity-warns-coalition-news