International students are making national headlines. The increasing shortage of decent, affordable student accommodation has seen a rash of rental scams, aimed at attracting vulnerable students in London and other university towns, such as Cambridge and Manchester.
In 2014 – 15 there were 2.27 million students studying at UK higher education institutions, of which 312,000 were from non-EU countries and 125,000 from within the EU, according to Universities UK. The average student is likely to be already saddled with tuition fees and loans to cover daily living costs. They may also be aware that the chance of finding any type of living space that is both fit for purpose and affordable is increasingly being put beyond their reach.
Students are always likely to be the target of frauds, especially young international students in the UK away from home for the first time. Criminal gangs target cash-strapped students by offering a financial reward to become a “Money Transfer Agent”. By the time a student becomes aware that their account has been used for quickly laundering large sums of money it’s too late. In many cases, the student doesn’t receive the money they were promised.
Another scam most often seen when student loans come through at the start of each term is the phishing email from a “student loans company”. But many students can only survive on a large overdraft and can be lured into clicking to a fake website where they give away vital financial information.
Fake advert for a rental scam
However, one of the most common frauds is the fake advert for a rental scam often found in the popular online classifieds. Students desperate to secure a place to live at the start of term are tricked into paying an upfront fee before they’ve even seen the property. Once the money has been sent, the landlord becomes impossible to contact or, worse still, it’s discovered that the advertised property doesn’t even exist.
Unfortunately, it has been estimated that around three quarters of students in most university towns do rely on trawling through the perilous waters of the private accommodation sector. But as the rise in rental scams show, taking a chance with room-to-let classifieds is clearly a minefield and can easily lead to disaster for the unsuspecting student.
Even dealing with genuine private landlords or high street letting agents is not always a happy experience. So it’s not surprising that many younger international students – not to mention their worried parents – will simply look for alternative options.
However, rooms at a Halls of Residence tend to be like gold dust and only university students are eligible, so excluding those who will be studying at other types of further education institutions or on English Learning courses. Even if a student was lucky enough to grab a room it’s only available for the first year so they would need to find somewhere else to live before starting their second year.
Safe and secure space for younger students
It appears then, that there are still some students who have not heard about homestay accommodation! Or they may feel that moving into a room with a host family is too much like still living at home. But for many younger students, it’s the ideal solution – a safe and secure space without having to worry about how to feed themselves or doing their own laundry. While some hosts may no longer have their own children still living under their roof, others definitely do have their family at home and the expected lively atmosphere that goes with it!
Alternatively, for those who want to explore an even more social experience, there are options for group accommodation or even house shares. And of course, a hosted homestay is very affordable compared to almost every other type of private accommodation as the price will include a selected daily meal plan – and no electricity, gas or water bills to worry about!
The pressure on student accommodation is unlikely to improve anytime soon. The Government predicts that the number of students entering higher education is set to increase by at least 60,000 each year and the UCAS process for accepting applications for 2017 is already underway. How many students have also definitely decided to avoid all the rental scams, landlord hassles and last minute let-downs by checking out their friendly student accommodation hosts?