The picturesque university cities at war over student housing

Independent shops and cafes once littered the streets of St James, Exeter, where a close-knit community lived peacefully. But an influx of University of Exeter students snapping up homes intended for families has rendered the area almost unrecognisable.

Robyn Connitt, 71, who has lived in the neighbourhood for almost 50 years, tells The Telegraph: "These days, it's full of takeaways and barber shops. Some of us have been told by students that if we don't like it, we should leave. And very sadly, lots of families have moved out of the area."

The situation in St James is being replicated in university cities across the UK. A student housing shortage has sparked a wave of landlords – who are facing their own increasingly tight margins – buying up family homes and converting them into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

Some 21,444 new HMO licences were issued in 2023, a 9pc increase on the year before and almost six times more than in 2018, according to research firm Searchland.

In a recent tweet, property television presenter, Kirstie Allsopp, cited the "issue of university accommodation taking up family homes" as one of the key crises exacerbating the UK's housing shortages.

Converting a standard family home into HMOs designed for students can immediately create three or more separate paying tenants who, struggling with accommodation shortages, are willing to pay significant rent premiums.

The issue is worsened by the fact that universities are accepting more and more students while the supply of accommodation has failed to keep pace.

There were 2.9 million students enrolled in higher education in the 2022-23 academic year, a 16pc increase from 2019-2020. Student accommodation website StuRents forecasts a deficit of 625,000 student beds by 2026, up from a shortage of just 5,000 beds in 2018.

As universities continue to accept large swathes of students they cannot accommodate, it is local residents like Ms Connitt who pay the price.

She says: "Students' antisocial behaviour is also a big thing, which is often at odds with families who are asking themselves if St James is still a suitable environment for raising their children.

"Many describe the walk to school, avoiding pools of vomit, discarded takeaway packaging and overflowing refuse bins. Lots of students bring their cars up, so it's also impossible to park anywhere during term time."

Her concerns are echoed by residents in Durham, which is home to more than 20,000 university students.

County Durham Conservative councillor, Luke Holmes, says: "The conversion of family homes into student HMOs is severely affecting the availability of housing for families.

"It's not only about supply but also about fairness in the tax system. Student residents in these HMOs are exempt from council tax, despite benefiting from the full range of services an ordinary taxpayer receives.

"This creates a tax revenue gap that puts a significant burden on our local authority, ultimately shifting the load onto regular taxpayers, which isn't fair."

Meanwhile, Richard Tyler lives in Headingley, Leeds, which is now home to around 60,000 full-time students. Dr Tyler has witnessed the effect this has had on the local community first-hand.

He says: "It used to be a normal suburban area - but now there are twice as many students as permanent residents. Once you get such strong demand for student housing, the price of properties shoots up, and families get priced out.

"Landlords can afford to outbid them, because they know they'll make it all back in rental income. We've seen a major loss of first homes for families in favour of second homes for students."

Dr Tyler has spent 20 years campaigning against the transformation of communities into areas dominated by students.

He lives near Chestnut Avenue, notorious for the high number of burglaries it sees each year.

Student areas attract thieves, as homes are often poorly secured by their residents, who also tend to have their own sets of valuable belongings, including laptops, smartphones and games consoles.

Dr Tyler says: "My kids used to go and play with other children on that street, but there are no families left there now. It's like walking down an alley in a prison - each door and window is covered in security bars."

Some councils have implemented "Article 4" directions, which requires landlords to gain planning permission in order to convert homes into HMOs. But in areas that have been flooded by students, some residents feel this is too little too late.

"It's like trying to close the stable door after the horse has bolted," says Dr Tyler.

One way to ease the depletion of family homes is to build more purpose-built student accommodation in the form of blocks of flats.

Torrin Wilkins, director of Centre Think Tank, says councils and universities should work together to increase "the quality of on-site student accommodation whilst also bringing down the prices". He adds: "Universities should not simply seek to profit off students but provide them with the building blocks of bright futures."

But not everybody agrees. Tammy Palmer, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Exeter's St James ward, argues that throwing more purpose-built accommodation at student cities is far from a simple fix.

"Purpose-built student accommodation buildings are often huge buildings that dwarf everything else. Students need to live somewhere, but Exeter is a small and very historic city."

And she stresses many students are unproblematic, and that the university does not ignore her concerns.

Ms Palmer says: "It's probably not fair to entirely blame students – they have come to university with no real knowledge of these tensions. Many students will be great neighbours.

"Most residents really enjoy having a few students around; they have no issue with a couple of houses being used as student accommodation in their street.

"But many have seen entire roads become student homes, and the community balance has tipped to a point that it is entirely lost."

A spokesman for Durham University said: "Durham University student spending generates £68m a year gross value added and supports over 1,100 jobs in County Durham.

"Durham University students volunteer 40,000 hours per year, supporting more than 200 charities and good causes, and make a significant contribution to the cultural vibrancy of County Durham, including presenting over 90 theatre productions every year."

The universities of Exeter and Leeds were also contacted for comment.