What is the Accommodation Costs Survey?
The Unipol Accommodation Costs Survey (ACS) is a longrunning, sectorwide research programme led by Unipol, the UK student housing charity, that tracks the cost and affordability of student accommodation across the UK.
It’s the only longitudinal, sector wide data return on costs to live in university and private sector purpose built accommodation. It collects details data on rents, accommodation types and accommodation characteristics. It looks at affordability, including comparisons for maintenance loan levels. The report is frequently citied by government, universities, student bodies and accommodation providers as an authoritative evidence base.
Why it matters?
The Accommodation Costs Survey is widely used to:
- Inform policy debates on student finance and housing affordability
- Provide accurate data, free from hype or bias, to inform decisions and debate
- Improve understanding of how accommodation costs affect access to higher education and the student experience.
What has changed in student accommodation since the last edition?
The last nationwide edition of the ACS took place in 2021, and since then we know that much has changed in the sector, reflecting student number volatility, increasing costs and the impact of legislation. The 2025 – 2026 survey aims to capture this change and share this insight with the sector.
How can we take part?
Unipol will be writing to all university and private sector PBSA providers in March to invite you to take part. The report will be published in late spring, and all respondents are sent a copy and invited to the launch event.