Bradford Owners' Briefing
The text below summarises the main points of the first Owners' Briefing given by Martin Blakey, Chief Executive of Unipol Student Homes, at the University of Bradford on Thursday 16th January 2008.
Introduction
The National Picture of Supply and Demand
Student Numbers in Bradford Bradford University and Bradford College
The Overall Picture in Bradford
Student Numbers in Bradford - The Future
The Private Larger Commercial Suppliers
Unipol Accommodation Bureau
House Hunting 2007-2008
Code of Standards and Accreditation
Improvements Made in Unipol's Services in Bradford
Amenity Levels
Rent Levels
Average rent Levels by Type
Deposits
Legislation - Licensing
Legislation - Deposit Protection
The Future
Introduction
This briefing is designed to inform owners about trends and developments in student housing including the national picture of supply and demand, estimated student numbers in Bradford, information about Unipol's operations in Bradford, developments in accreditation and the Unipol Code of Standards and observations on the Bradford student housing market
The National Picture of Supply and Demand
Demand
The figures, both national and local, given at the briefing in January have, as promised, been adjusted and updated following the detailed figures about University applications and admissions becoming available in February 2008. It is still too early to give information about the house hunting pattern because the season is still in its infancy
2007-2008 was the second year in which top up fees were charged and the year saw a more settled pattern of admissions with less turbulence than 2006-2007.
Final figures for 2006-2007 show that in England and Wales there were 2,362,815 enrolments, an increase of 1% on 2005-2006. These figures deal with all enrolments within higher education. Undergraduate enrolments were down by 1% whilst postgraduate enrolments were up by 3%. EU student enrolments increased by 6% to 112,260 and non EU students increased by 7% to 239,210. The figures for 2007-2008 will not be available le until January 2009.
The increase in EU students saw Polish student numbers up 25%, students from France were 16% up and German student numbers increased by 10%.
In Bradford the University has a strong postgraduate and international student intake.
The figures for 2007-2008 (the current academic year) will be available from February 2008. It is expected that enrolments are likely to be up by 1%% to 2%.
UCAS, the central universities admissions body has released its latest figures for applications for 2008-2009. On 14th February 2008 the number of applicants were up 8.9% up, although for the first time nursing and midwifery figure were included in these figures so the real rate of increase was 6.7%. EU applications were up 10.4% and other overseas applications were up by 11.0%.
Looking specifically at Bradford, Bradford University's applications were 11.7% down and Bradford College's applications were 7.8% down.
Applications from China were up 20.5% and up 26.8% from Singapore with applications from Canada seeing a rise of 30.9%.
These figures will be updated in April 2008.
In summary, at this stage in the year, Bradford's applications are lagging behind the national average but Bradford College's significant decline over the last two years is slowing down. There is likely to be only limited growth of student numbers in Bradford this year with intake levelling. This compares with a national prognosis of a small increase of around 1%-2% a year being likely. Most universities have only limited plans to expand and much of that expansion rests on hopes that additional international and postgraduate students can be recruited within a competitive market place.
Supply
Looking at the supply, the NUS Unipol Accommodation Survey published in 2007 showed that nationally the supply of student accommodation continues to increase by around 3% a year, mainly in purpose new build student residences. Around 12,000 bed spaces a year a being constructed, normally in en suite self-catered cluster flats. There is still some evidence that in the off street (smaller house) market, numbers continue to increase with the growth of buy to let properties. Buy to let, however, is slowing and the recent credit crunch may result in a general slow down of new student accommodation except in London and the South East where capital values are being maintained and where earlier expansion has been limited because of the cost and difficulties inherent in developing there.
Student Numbers in Bradford
Bradford University
Full time student numbers at Bradford have increased from 8,875 in 2006-2007 to 9,363 in 2007-2008, an increase of 5.5%, considerably better than the national picture for that year.
41% of students studying at Bradford University live at home in Bradford and the surrounding area. There has been no increase in the percentage of living at home students since 2004-2005. In 2007-2008 the number of living at home students increased from 3,639 to 3,770.
The number of students with residential requirements increased from 5,236 to 5,593, an increase of 357 bed spaces or 6.8%.
University of Bradford Accommodation
In 2007-2008 the University guaranteed a place in halls for all first year applicants and housed some returning students. It had students in nomination arrangements for 687 bed spaces at Laisteridge Lane (run by CRM), 218 bed spaces at Wardley House (run by Cosmopolitan) and housed 524 in the University's own property. It therefore houses 1,429 students directly.
In 2008-2009 the University will only house first year undergraduates, some postgraduates and international students and a few special cases and it will have nomination arrangements for 450 bed spaces at Laisteridge Lane (run by CRM) and a new arrangement for 500 bed spaces at Arkwright Hall (run by Opal). The University is completing the demolition of much of its own housing and will house only 250 students in University and Bradford Halls on campus. It will therefore house 1,200 students directly.
Bradford College
The number of full time higher education students at the College dropped from 1,443 in 2006-2007 to 1,200 in 2007-2008. Half of these students are locally based so the number of students with residential requirements in 2007-2008 was 600, significantly down from 851 the year before.
The College has an arrangement with Opal to allocate 200 bed spaces and houses 20 students themselves in Doris Birdsall House (normally 60 bed spaces but with 40 of these mothballed and empty) which it intends to sell.
In 2007-2008 the College is therefore housing 220 students directly (a fall from 260 in 2006-2007) so the private sector requirement is 380.
The Overall Picture in Bradford
Overall some of the increase in student numbers from the University are being offset by the fall in student numbers from the College. This year the number of students overall increased to 10,563 from 10,318 last year and the residential requirement rose from 6,087 to 6,193. This means the private sector requirement rose from 4,148 to 4,544, a 9.5% increase brought about by a mixture of growth in intake and the downsizing of the University's own housing.
Student Numbers in Bradford - The Future
The University is planning a small expansion to 2008-2009 (although they have done better than their plans over the last two years) of around 100 students but are to cut the number of students they directly allocate from 1,429 to 1,200
The private sector requirement will therefore increase by 7.2% to 4,873 from 4,544
Bradford College is unlikely to decline further and their figures in 2008-2009 are likely to be the same as the current year.
The Private Larger Commercial Suppliers
The private sector larger suppliers are now major players within the Bradford student property market. Because some of their bed spaces are allocated in a direct relationship with the University and College it is important not to double count bed spaces
In 2007-2008 Opal have 678 bed spaces at Arkwright Hall, Mainstay have 495 bed spaces in Forster Hall, CRM have 889 bed spaces, Bradford Foyer have 16 bed spaces, Unipol have 291 bed spaces in Wardley House and there is a small development in Wilton Morley Street for 73 bed spaces. A total of 1,264 bed spaces letting directly into the market.
In 2007-2008 there will be an increase in supply with Laisteridge Lane 2 coming on line with 325 bed spaces being ready for 2008-2009. Longside Lane will also be complete in 2080 with a further 280 bed spaces.
In 2008-2009 the remainder of Laisteridge Lane 2 will come on line with a further 759 bed spaces (taking the development to an overall total of 1,084 bed spaces).
In 2009-2010 Thornton Road will see a further 891 bed spaces coming on line and Tumbling Hill will provide 118 extra bed spaces.
The University of Bradford are no longer building their eco student village but are talking to a development company about building a 1,000 bed development to come on line in 2011 which they will nominate into, terminating nominations agreements with other suppliers.
If this happens there will be 4,637 private sector bed spaces in larger developments plus 250 bed spaces in University complexes, an overall total of 4,887, enough to house every student with a residential need in Bradford.
Unipol Accommodation Bureau
Displayed 1,964 bed spaces in for 2007-2008 - an increase of 43% with most of that increase coming from larger developments. The number of web searches in 2007 was 101,309, an increase of 16% over 2006 at 87,229.
House Hunting 2007-2008
89% of bed spaces displayed on the website were let in 2007 compared with 67% in 2006 and 84% in 2005. 89% of bed spaces displayed were let from February to June (compared with 66% in 2006-2007)
The majority of available beds were displayed for the beginning of the letting season in February and in 2007 lettings in February and March were almost identical to 2006 with no real activity in April and May 2007. In June activity was slightly up but the big increase in activity was in August and September 2007.
The house hunting season for 2008 began on Monday 11th February 2008.
Code of Standards and Accreditation
The percentage of bed spaces within the Unipol Code of Standards is 70% and Unipol, the University and College and the students' unions advise students always to rent Code properties. Most of the larger developments are also accredited by being in the Unipol/ANUK National Code for Larger Student Developments.
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The Code now had the following membership in Bradford: |
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Arkwright Hall |
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In February 2007 Unipol completed its project to inspect and report upon all accredited properties and ensure that they reached the required standard. All of the inspections have been completed on a 3 year cycle which will now begin again. New owners continue to join the scheme and students continue to value it.
Improvements Made in Unipol's Services in Bradford
Unipol are continuing to develop a number of services for both landlords and tenants.
Three Model Tenancies have been developed (a joint tenancy, a single tenancy and a tenancy for those living in an owner occupiers' house) and Code members can access these on line and generate their own bespoke model tenancy. The agreements can also be bought in hard copy from the Bureau. You can find more information here.
Unipol has revamped its Landlord Consultative Group that is designed to enable landlords using the Unipol service to feed their views directly into Unipol's management processes.
The Code of Standards has been revised to take into account matters relating to the Housing Act 2004 and a five star system has been introduced for accredited properties.
A new tabloid newspaper has been implemented that will be distributed throughout all the student areas of Bradford in March and late May informing students about the website and Unipol's services. Owners also have an opportunity to advertise in these newspapers which are both popular and well read. Owners interest should email tabloid@unipol.org.uk or call 0113 2053416.
Amenity Levels
|
Percentage of properties |
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|
Type |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
|
Central Heating |
97 |
98 |
97 |
Reduction in gas heating from 89% to 78% reflecting electric heated larger buildings |
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Fire Protection |
|
|
|
|
Main interlinked fire detection |
40 |
33 |
33 |
|
Fully zoned |
30 |
45 |
47 |
|
Battery |
27 |
16 |
18 |
Security |
|
|
|
Burglar alarm provided |
74 |
62 |
62 |
Again reflecting a shift to larger high rise buildings |
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Sanitation |
|
|
|
Shower |
97 |
98 |
98 |
Bath |
73 |
63 |
70 |
En Suite |
- |
19 |
17 |
Communal space |
|
|
|
Separate living room |
39 |
41 |
59 |
Living Space |
52 |
52 |
31 |
No living space |
9 |
7 |
10 |
Facilities |
|
|
|
Washing machine |
83 |
80 |
81 |
Microwave |
77 |
83 |
89 |
Dishwasher |
6 |
11 |
9 |
Double beds in all rooms |
64 |
64 |
67 |
Some double beds |
28 |
29 |
25 |
No double beds |
8 |
7 |
8 |
Off street parking |
45 |
56 |
40 |
Garden |
80 |
80 |
74 |
Full double glazing |
64 |
74 |
76 |
Some double glazing |
13 |
11 |
13 |
There has been a significant increase in interlinked and zoned fire detection and the growth of separate living rooms continues. The provision of washing machines and microwaves has increased but the provision of dishwashers has declined. 67% of all properties now have double bed (or 4' beds) in all rooms, reflecting student preferences. 76% of properties are now full doubled glazed.
Rent Levels
Shared house rents edged only slightly upwards this year with a small fall-back in the average rent level of private halls.
Average rent Levels by Type
|
Type |
2005-2006 |
2006-2007 |
2007-2008 |
% rise 06-07 to 07-08 |
|
Private Hall |
£69.62 |
£71.58 |
£71.41 |
-0.2 |
|
Self Contained Flat |
£58.73 |
£56.85 |
£68.38 |
+20.3 |
|
Shared Flat |
£45.00 |
£56.05 |
£61.74 |
+10.2 |
|
Shared House |
£38.59 |
£41.01 |
£41.93 |
+2.3 |
|
Owner Occupier |
£46.07 |
£56.00 |
£63.78 |
+13.9 |
The use of summer rent concessions declined slightly, as did the use of guarantors, but this was still high, being asked for in 50% of all lettings.
|
|
2005 |
2005 |
2005 |
|
Summer Rent Concessions |
70% |
55% |
50% |
|
Guarantors |
11% |
21% |
24% |
Deposits
The average deposit was £146.05 down from £159.58 in 2007. The size of deposits varied very considerably between types of property.
|
Type |
2006-2007 |
2007-2008 |
|
Private Hall |
£247.83 |
£174.66 |
|
Self Contained Flat |
£310.79 |
£294.50 |
|
Shared Flat |
£190.00 |
£211.32 |
|
Shared House |
£133.89 |
£151.44 |
|
Owner Occupier |
£126.19 |
£155.00 |
Legislation - Licensing
In Bradford the Metropolitan District Council has received 210 applications out of the anticipated 700 and it is planned that 50% of all those applications will be issued with licensing in February 2 2008. At the present time it would appear there is significant avoidance of licensing, mainly outside of the student area.
Legislation - Deposit Protection
Deposit protection for all tenants on Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) is now a legal requirement and landlords have to use either the custodial scheme or one of the two insurance schemes to protect any deposits levied. Details of the schemes can be found here (link to our site). As part of protecting the deposit it is also a legal requirement to give tenants an amount of "prescribed information". Those landlords using the Unipol model tenancy will find that most of the prescribed information (apart from the leaflet that is required from each scheme) is contained within the tenancy.
Where a joint contract has an annual entail income (excluding any service or utility charges) that exceeds £25,000 then this is not an AST but a Common Law Tenancy and deposits do not need protecting under the current legislation., Campaigning is currently underway for the Government to lift the £25,000 ceiling from the level set in 1990 to an indexed level with RPI since that date (estimated at £52,000).
The Future
Rents in complexes are likely to remain stable with no increase and off street property rentals are likely to rise between 2%-2.5% for 2008-2009.
Significant variances between complex and off street rent levels is unlikely to see students switching from off-street properties to complexes which are still mainly used for first year, postgraduate and international students
The returning off street market is probably around 2,800 bed spaces and the complex returning market is around 1,570.