The state of student accommodation in Bristol for students starting this academic year is at a “crisis point”, a landlord has warned.
Ben Giles, founder of Balloon Lets, said there are hundreds of student renters who don’t have an apartment.
Mr Giles believes the housing market is as bad as 2019.
Waiting lists for accommodation at the University of the West of England (UWE) have more than doubled compared to last year.
In 2021, 150 students were waiting for accommodation at UWE, now 485 students are on the waiting list for accommodation.
A spokesman said: “Due to a high number of applications for on-campus accommodation immediately after the spaces were made available on June 10, our on-campus rooms quickly became overbooked.”
The large number of students put on hold last year because of the pandemic created “the perfect storm” for student accommodation, according to Mr Giles.
Adding to the shortage of university accommodation, private rents have risen dramatically over the past five years, from £400 per person per room to around £700, Mr Giles said.
The current rental market in the city therefore leaves some students with no choice but to decline their offer to move back in with their parents or commute to university.
India Pascoal-Lawrence, 21, has had to turn down her place on a unique Volcanology Masters at the University of Bristol.
Ms Pascoal-Lawrence said she dreamed of studying volcanoes from a young age but high rents in Bristol forced her to give up her place.
“The fact that I have a place but I can’t afford to go there because there’s no accommodation or it’s too expensive is so disheartening,” she said.
Jack Hughes will be studying robotics at UWE this year.
Although Mr Hughes began looking for a house in May, he has chosen to commute from his parents’ home in Yatton.
The 24-year-old said he was disappointed with the quality of the homes on offer for the price on offer.
He explained: “There was a place for around £600 [a month] and one of the bedrooms was a converted utility room with a washbasin in one corner and a front door with a letter box.
Pippa Barclay, from Salisbury, has two daughters moving to Bristol this September.
She said she found finding housing incredibly stressful, adding that the university provided little help.
“That doesn’t make the transition to university easier for children,” she says.
A University of Bristol spokesman said it had no students on its waiting list for accommodation.
“Any students who are still looking for accommodation should contact our student accommodation team who can help find the best option for them,” they said.
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