International Students Renting in the UK – how the UK Economy benefits
How much are International students renting in the UK is contributing to the UK economy? A new study from the Higher Education Policy Institute and Kaplan International Pathways has found Students from overseas who come to the UK to study can bring with them up to £22.6 billion each year.
These findings combined with the estimated cost of £2.3 billion per year results in a net benefit to the UK economy of £20.3 billion which is the equivalent of £310 per UK resident.
Shift in attitudes renting to international students
As a company that specialises in helping international tenants secure rented property by standing as rent guarantor, Housing Hand has seen first hand the change in attitudes when allowing international students to rent.
We have seen landlords, letting agents and other rented accommodation providers realise the potential in the international student housing market rather than the risk. Savvy letting agents and landlords see opportunity in the fact that international students make up 19% of the student market* which is already an established industry segmentation in its own right. The percentage of students from outside the UK increases to 46% of postgraduate students studying and living in the UK.
The paper by the UK Council for International Student Affairs found In 2015/16 the number of international students in the UK came to 438,010 with 127,440 coming from other EU countries and 310,570 coming from outside the EU.
Why landlords and letting agents are choosing to rent to international students
There may be several reasons why accommodation providers have decided to accept international tenants on a more regular basis. For one, the EU Citizens Rights Campaign Group have brought to the attention of the government equalities office the findings http://housinghand.co.uk/news/discrimination-european-tenants-renting-uk/
According to the UK Council for International StudentAffairs (UKCISA) – http://institutions.ukcisa.org.uk/info-for-universities-colleges–schools/policy-research–statistics/research–statistics/international-students-in-uk-he/
UK Rent Guarantor Service – Housing Hand
This article on “International Students Renting UK” has been written for Housing Hand – the leading UK Rent Guarantor Service