In 2013, George Osborne lifted the cap on how many students each university can take. There are currently 2.5 million students in the UK higher education sector with an extra 30,000 student places being created this year.
Traditionally, students lived in halls or shared private houses but there is an increasing number of private companies building blocks for student living. With the latest government plans allowing student housing to be included in overall local housing targets, student housing providers may be poaching sites that could have been used for affordable housing.
Most students have two homes, their term-time home and their family home, meaning student housing usually makes no contribution to the nation’s housing crisis. The new rules on student numbers could potentially change the shape of housing markets in some towns and cities.
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