Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) - notice period survey: responses summary

2. Student Survey: Summary of Results

This section will describe the findings of the student survey hosted on Citizen Space between 10 July 2024 and 31 October 2024.

• 171 respondents answered the student survey.
• Not all respondents answered all questions. There were a variable number of responses per question and part-question (with some questions having multiple parts).
• The number of responses per question (and part-question) ranged from 6 to 171.
• A mixture of open and closed questions were used, including multiple choice questions (MCQs) with variable lists, and opportunities for qualitative feedback through open-text answers.
• Many respondents were redirected by the survey script on Citizen Space. For example question 5, which used a MCQ list, contained an instruction for respondents who chose the answer “I did not want to leave my accommodation during the rental period”. These respondents were redirected to Question 11. Consequently, these respondents did not answer questions 6-10.

Question 1: Have you stayed in privately owned PBSA or in university / college halls of residence?

• Approximately 81% of respondents stayed in halls, with the rest in privately owned PBSA. However, there is a possibility that some respondents may have misunderstood what type of PBSA they were staying in. It appears that at least some students who responded that they stayed in university halls had arranged accommodation via their institution, where they were staying in privately owned PBSA via a nomination agreement with the university.
• Student survey answers suggest that respondents had experience in at least eight Scottish universities. The majority of respondents with university PBSA experience reported staying with three Scottish universities.
• About 19% of respondents reported experience of staying in privately owned PBSA. A wide variety of companies and organisations were named. Similar to the universities, these private providers appear to be somewhat concentrated in a relatively small number of Scottish cities.

Question 2: When did you stay in PBSA/halls of residence?

• Reported tenancies ranged from 2017 – 2024.
• The majority of respondents reported having stayed in PBSA between 2022 and 2024.
• Several respondents stated that they were staying in PBSA at the time of completing the survey.
• A small number of students were uncertain whether they were staying in PBSA or not, in instances where a property was managed on behalf of a university by a third party.

Question 3: How long was your tenancy agreement for?

• Approximately 60% of respondents were in PBSA for 1 year.
• Length of tenancy reported ranged from approximately 3 months to 3 years. Common answers included 1 academic year, or 9 months.
• Very few students reported staying in PBSA for longer than 3 years.

Question 4(a): Did your tenancy agreement include notice to leave provisions or information about how to terminate your tenancy early?

• 50% of respondents who answered question 4(a) indicated that their tenancy agreement did include notice to leave provisions or information about how to terminate the tenancy early.
• The other 50% were approximately evenly divided between “no” (24%) or “don’t know” (26%).
• Elsewhere, under other questions some respondents reported that, in addition to no clear information being provided on their tenancy agreement regarding notice periods, the PBSA provider(s) did not communicate clearly with them, or process any requests in a timely manner. For example, one respondent stated that:

“There was no specific notice period detailed in my tenancy contract. The deal was if I found another student to replace me on the tenancy, I could leave. I gave three or so weeks notice of this but [the provider] were very poor at processing the request on time.”

Question 4(b): If yes, how easy was it to find this information?

• About 41% of respondents indicated that it was either “easy” or “very easy” to find this information about notice periods within the tenancy agreement.
• Approximately 9% indicated that it was “very difficult.”
• The findings of question 4(b) appear broadly consistent with free text responses elsewhere. It seems that the majority of students were aware of, and/or were able to find, the relevant information about notice periods within their tenancy agreements. Often the principal objections were less about finding information on notice policy, and more about the implications or implementation of that policy. Examples are indicated in the findings of questions below, such as question 11.

Question 5: What statement best describes your experience of leaving or wanting to leave your accommodation?

• 19% of respondents answered “I left my accommodation during the rental period.”
• 23% answered “I wanted to leave my accommodation during the rental period but did not leave.”
• 54% of respondents stated that they did not want to leave their accommodation during the rental period. These and other respondents were redirected by the survey script to question 11. Consequently this relatively large group of respondents did not answer the intervening questions 6-10.

Question 6: If applicable, why did you leave or want to leave your PBSA accommodation?

• 25% of those who answered question 6 indicated that they “wanted to move to other accommodation outwith PBSA, for example with friends.”
• 23% chose the answer “I was not happy with the quality of accommodation provided.”
• 16% answered “I completed my course.”
• 21% indicated “other”. Free text responses to question 6 varied widely, with prominent themes including PBSA costs being too high, and poor quality of accommodation. Accommodation quality was also an important theme raised in answers elsewhere, such as under question 11.

Question 7: How much notice did you provide?

• 27% of those who responded to question 7 answered “4 week(s).”
• 6% answered “3 month(s).”
• 67% answered "Other.” Among free text responses to question 7, several respondents pointed to very short notice provided (e.g. a few days), or no notice provided at all. A small number of respondents said they moved out of PBSA, and proceeded to pay the full PBSA rent while living elsewhere.

Question 8(a): Were you able to leave without incurring any financial penalty (anything more than one month rental costs)?

• Of those who responded to question 8(a), 51% answered “no”.
• Approximately 49% of respondents answered some version of “yes”:
  • 13% answered “Yes – the balance of rent was refunded automatically (rental costs paid up front)”.
  • 34% answered “Yes – I did not have to make any more rental payments (rental costs paid monthly)”.
  • 2% answered “Yes – I had to request the balance of rent (rental costs paid up front)”.
• The ratio of yes/no answers could be interpreted as indicating an approximate balance between respondents who were, and were not, able to leave PBSA without incurring financial penalty greater than one month rental costs.

Question 8(b): If no, were any rental costs refunded?

• About 79% of respondents said “no”, with the remainder saying “yes”.
• Those who answered “yes” were also asked to provide details of how many months rent were refunded, or did not have to be paid. A small number of respondents offered some further detail on this, including costs being deducted from the next contract, or finding a suitable replacement tenant.

Question 9: If you incurred a financial penalty, how did you pay for this?

• 30% of respondents answered “from my own funds”.
• 15% said “My parents, carers, or someone else in my support network gave me the money”.
• 15% said “Loss of deposit”.
• 27% said “other”, though very few respondents gave further detail in free text.
• Of all questions in the student survey, question 9 had the lowest base rate, with about 15% of all survey respondents answering this question. This particularly low base rate suggests that the findings of question 9 may not be generalisable or reproducible.

Question 10: Did the fact that you would not get your rental costs back, either fully or partially, influence your decision on whether to leave your accommodation?

• 75% of respondents said “yes”, with the remainder saying “no”. In other words, the majority of respondents answered question 10 in the affirmative: not getting rental costs back did indeed influence their decision on whether to leave their accommodation or not.
• There was no free text option for answering question 10, however some of the qualitative responses elsewhere may also be relevant (e.g. question 11).

Question 11: Is there any further information you would like to provide about your stay in purpose-built student accommodation / halls of residence?

Question 11 presented a free text opportunity for respondents to provide unstructured qualitative feedback. This question generated wide-ranging commentary, with prominent themes including:

• Ethical objections;
• Quality of accommodation;
• Potentially vulnerable or disadvantaged groups.

Ethical Objections

• Many student respondents were in favour of change to notice periods, however there was little or no consistency on what this change should be, or why it should be imposed.
• Some students presented ethical objections, describing current notice period arrangements as “morally bankrupt” or “deeply wrong”. The PBSA market was described as “predatory”, and lacking balance or equilibrium.
• While a wide range of possible changes were suggested, there was no clear consensus other than the status quo of notice periods being unacceptable. For example, one respondent considered that while some penalties might be reasonable, the current arrangement with fixed notice periods is too inflexible:

“There should be the option to give notice and vacate the accommodation. A penalty could apply if one wants to leave. But completely barring a tenant from leaving until the contract is exhausted is a bit too rigid.”

• Several students respondents highlighted that early ending of tenancies was strongly discouraged by PBSA providers, and there is a paucity of support available. For example, one respondent described how engagement with a PBSA provider felt like a “fearmongering campaign”, with “no support available for students to learn about their options”.
• Some were of the view that the financial penalties were unreasonable taking into consideration the rhythm of the academic year, and the difficulties with finding replacement tenants.
• While several respondents offered high-level proposals on how these issues might be addressed, there was a general lack of detail. For example one respondent proposed that:

“There should be some legal / statutory / whatever requirement that sufficient notice would allow one to terminate without financial cost.”

• In summary, while ethical arguments were advanced in favour of changes to notice periods, there was no clear consensus as to what these changes should be, or how this might be done.

Quality of Accommodation

• Many respondents commented on the quality of their accommodation, both positively and negatively. This commentary on quality was not always directly or explicitly linked to notice periods.
• Several students reporting high standards in their PBSA, describing it as “spacious”, “modern” and “comfortable”. Other respondents described accommodation that was “very nice”, well-maintained and safe.
• In the reported positive experiences of accommodation quality, there was generally no direct link to notice periods explicitly stated.
• Negative reviews on PBSA quality covered a range of issues, including e.g. management, staffing, maintenance, cleanliness, rental costs, overcrowding and safety. For example, one respondent described their PBSA as “not a home - more like a holding cell.”
• Some negative responses were directly related to notice periods. For example, one respondent talked about their experience of

“…a substandard accommodation, and students are forced to stay for a year regardless. Problems I faced, and multiple complaints made, but the management and the enquiry centre were just adamant that the agreement is for a year.”

• A few respondents pointed out the possible link between fixed tenancy and how this might impact on incentives for providers, may directly influence PBSA quality:

“If I was able to readily leave as private tenants have, this would force PBSA's to uphold a higher standard... by lacking easy exit from the tenancy, I and other students are beholden to the will of the PBSA, there is no reason for them to do anything other than the bare minimum.”

• Similarly, others argued that changing notice periods could potentially act as a positive incentive on PBSA providers to improve the quality of the accommodation offered:

“I do not believe that providing the right to give notice at any time would negatively impact the property owners either as PBSAs are in high demand. Allowing students to give notice would actually help ensure that the property owners are providing a high quality and competitive accommodation as otherwise students will vote with their feet and be able to leave the poor quality and overpriced accommodation.”

• In summary, while there was clear strength of feeling from many respondents who experienced poor quality PBSA, the student survey did not find any clear consensus on this issue. There were also several positive reviews of accommodation quality, though these typically did not link explicitly to notice periods.

Potentially Vulnerable or Disadvantaged Groups

• A limited range of potentially disadvantaged groups of students were identified who might potentially be disproportionately affected by notice periods. One example was international students:

“…the current legislation unfairly impacts international students especially. They find it much harder to find suitable accommodation prior to moving to Scotland so are more likely to feel forced into an expensive or low quality PBSA and then once they arrive find there is no practical way for them to leave the accommodation.”

• A small number of respondents described how disability and unplanned medical circumstances impacted on their notice periods. This resulted in liability to pay the entirety of accommodation costs for the full academic year, despite a lack of practical alternative options.
• One respondent highlighted the need for more information and provisions for care experienced and estranged students (CEES), and particularly the challenges that CEES students may face if a guarantor is required.
• In summary, a relatively small group of respondents described how some groups of potentially vulnerable students might be disadvantaged by the current arrangements.