Thinking of staying in halls of residence while studying at a UK college? You may think it’s the easiest option but increasingly, international students are turning to homestay accommodation as a worry-free and better value-for-money solution. While universities promise to give priority to students from overseas or with disabilities/medical conditions, just one in every four full-time student lives in purpose built student accommodation.
The acute shortage of appropriate accommodation for students away from home for the first time and needing their own private, undisturbed space for study seems to be already at tipping point. At the start of the 2014 academic year, around 200 first year students arriving in the Bristol area were forced to “double up” in bunk beds in rooms meant for single students or even put up in hotels.
Many students rely on private providers
Universities in London can only accommodate around 34,000 students within their own halls. As a result, many now rely on private providers to house students coming to London for the first time. Latest figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that the number of international applicants in 2015 had risen by 2 per cent, increasing by more than two thirds over a ten year period and is expected to reach more than one in five by 2018.
Current estimates suggest that around three quarters of students in most university towns end up looking for accommodation in the private sector.
Most colleges can barely accommodate all first-year students in halls of residence despite promising that all first-year students are guaranteed a room in student halls. But only if you meet a number of requirements, including of course, returning your application, accommodation deposit and an advance rental payment by a given deadline date and time.
Daunting for a young overseas student
There are an endless number of study courses, many of which are of different duration. You may be accepted on a short course, which means you may only need student accommodation for less than the usual academic year. For example, you may be classified as a visiting student on an exchange programme, such as Erasmus Plus, which is the European Union programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport. This may mean you only attend for the early or late part of the academic year and you may not be guaranteed accommodation, which is likely to be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Even if you are able to secure yourself a decent room at a halls of residence you face another problem almost straightaway if your study course extends beyond one year – as this is the maximum time allowed! In other words, you may need to start hunting around for private accommodation in your second term.
It can be daunting indeed for a young overseas student away from home for the first time and still learning to speak English to suddenly have to deal with private landlords and lettings agents. Finding decent and affordable accommodation in many of the major university towns can be almost impossible unless you have decided to call upon the “Bank of Mum and Dad” to help you out!
So while it appears that a halls of residence would be the easy option, in reality there can be serious drawbacks!
Student dissatisfaction increase in halls of residence
You may be offered a choice of room by some colleges but the best or most affordable may already be taken and you could just be left with a limited option. At a Hosts international homestay you can choose between a standard accommodation, opt for a superior accommodation or go for a group share, with an average six people per house.
More than ten years ago, the Housing Act 2004 introduced a requirement for all student accommodation in England and Wales to be committed to high standards of management, which so often is not the case in the private rental sector. A 2014 survey found that student dissatisfaction had increased by around 4 per cent with both private renting and staying in halls of residence. The most frequent complaints included cost, plumbing water and heating, unfriendly people, size of room – and other students!
Hosts International meets the standards for registration as a provider of homestay, private home and independent self-catering accommodation with the British Council – an official cultural partner with the Erasmus Plus student exchange programme.