More than 10% of students experience homelessness during their studies, over half face fuel poverty, countless live in extortionate Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) or in damp, mouldy, structurally unsafe housing.
According to the Scottish Governments research on PBSA and student housing, students are less aware of their rights than other renters and have been blamed for the destruction of neighbourhoods in England, resulting in HMO controls across the UK. Pair this with a crisis struck higher education sector pulling back from the housing of students to focus on teaching and research and the PBSA market is booming, with over £3.4 billion invested throughout 2024.
In Dundee, PBSA is considered ‘non-mainstream’ housing and is exempt from ‘standard housing design requirements.’ In Scotland, PBSA is exempt from many tenants’ rights and has seen massive success as an ‘investment class,’ with better returns than mainstream housing and good performance during market crashes.
PBSA rents in Scotland skyrocketed 34% between 2019 and 2022 and Holyrood has declared a housing emergency. Dundee City Council is the only major city in Scotland to not follow despite calls from Labour Councillors, housing charity Shelter, and others. Between 2010 and 2025 Dundee and Angus rents have increased by 54% or more for all property types.
Developers say Dundee needs another 3,000 to 6,000 new-build PBSA spaces complete with cramped rooms, studio flats linked to isolation, and rents unaffordable to many students.
But the 15 square-metre flats come complete with a cinema, bookable dining rooms (since you don’t have an actual dining room); potentially £1000s in cashback and refer-a-friend bonuses and; 24-hour on-site security, a cornerstone of all functional neighbourhoods.
Both Universities faced flash shortages of student accommodation, resulting in the approval of over 1,900 new units. Add in other developer interest and 3,600 are on the way, pending approval.
Are high end studios really what students need?
If you read the Jute Journal you probably know that an increase in Dundee university student numbers is not a guarantee. The future number of international students, who are more likely to stay in PBSA, is even more unclear.
Scottish Government PBSA research does not concur, stating that ‘there will continue to be large numbers of international students’ (The same misguided assumption that put Iain Gillespie in front of Parliament). If these 3,600 beds are not sailing the wave of a thriving higher education sector, then why are we building so many?
A continued student housing ‘boom’ has been predicted due to the Housing (Scotland) Bill, which received hundreds of last-minute amendments adding loopholes to rent controls and tenants’ rights.
Disconnected from the city, Dundee students have not engaged much with plans for new student accommodation or legislation. The council is currently in a ‘call for ideas’ stage for their new Local Development Plan, which sets out what may be built in the city over the next decade.
To help inform this the Student Representative Council’s (SRC) Housing Representative has launched a survey to understand student’s actual housing needs, which may inform future policy and planning decisions.
The University of Dundee and Dundee City Council have regular talks about student accommodation after the university offered places to students in 2022, knowing they couldn’t house them. However, student’s representation from the university’s side is unclear, making more student participation a clear necessity.
The University of Dundee is still to respond to FOI requests regarding their housing steering committee and their role in the student housing market.
Edinburgh and Glasgow’s students are ahead of us.
Both cities have created student housing cooperatives (flats collectively owned and ran by student residents), providing 106 and 5 student flats respectively.
Manchester Students have also organised to ‘fight the rent hike’ demanding rent reduction, accessible units, transparency and rent rebates for unfixed maintenance issues, following on from achieving a 30% rent reduction from the university in 2020.
In Dundee, the Student Renter’s Union and Student’s Housing Cooperative have both fallen flat.
Through answering the Dundee Student Housing Consultation (by scanning the QR code below), you can have your voice heard in future policy and decisions.
Opportunity abounds to improve the student housing sector, and housing in Dundee more widely. Through proper representation, a better deal can be found for students and Dundee City.
If you have housing concerns as a student, queries or suggestions reach out to the student housing representative at src.housing@dundee.ac.uk
This is a pivotal time to fight for change in the rented sector, and we are making the first steps past complacency. Students need-not experience housing precarity, exclusion, or poor living standards, but change cannot happen overnight.