Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) Occupancy Survey 2024-25 Academic Year

The Nottingham PBSA Occupancy Survey is now in its 11th year and forms part of our ongoing Planning for Student Accommodation in the City.

The previous results can be found on our PBSA Occupancy Survey page. 

The results of the survey have been crucial to understanding the PBSA market and have allowed the City to be ambitious in promoting PBSA to ensure there is a sufficient supply of bedspaces to meet future needs of students.

In turn, there is evidence to show that this policy is helping to rebalance communities where there are existing high concentrations of students living on street including in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

However, as the market matures it is becoming increasingly important that new PBSA provision meets the needs of students who are looking for a shared lifestyle who often choose to live in HMOs.

Please let us know about the occupancy rates for your PBSA schemes in the City, as well as the origin (e.g. home or international) and type of students (first years, ‘returners’, postgraduates etc). It is appreciated that this is sensitive commercial information and only aggregated market wide results will be made public.

You are helping the Council to have a greater understanding of the PBSA market. You will also be one of the first to receive aggregated results when these are publicly available.  

With the significant growth in student numbers over the last decade, Nottingham City Council has promoted the growth of PBSA in appropriate locations. The aims being to increase choice, improve the quality of accommodation for students and to provide an alternative to traditional housing, thereby encouraging a re-balance in some areas of the City where there are the highest concentrations of students.

For the last three years, the number of on-street Student Council Exempt properties (mainly HMOs) have seen a net fall of approx. 550 houses and this is seen as a sign that the Council’s policy is starting to have an impact.  Student numbers had also been on the rise in previous years and these increases had been exceeding the increases in new PBSA bedspaces. In the current academic year there has been a fall in overall student numbers requiring accommodation, but at the same time the number of additional PBSA bedspaces has continued to grow.

The Council is keen to continue to monitor the provision of PBSA including new developments, those with planning permission and importantly, any vacancies in the existing stock.  

The results are set out below.

In additional to requesting overall occupancy figures from PBSA providers in the City, we would also like to gain some insight into what providers are looking to do where they have vacancies. Early indications suggest that the current 2024/25 academic year has been more challenging than previous years. It is therefore important we understand what options providers are considering.

To capture this information, we would be very grateful if you could complete the PBSA Occupancy Survey - Additional Information Form by clicking button below

PBSA Occupancy Survey - Additional Information Form

As with the occupancy figures, we appreciate that this is sensitive commercial information and only aggregated market wide results will be made public.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact localplan@nottinghamcity.gov.uk in the first instance.