This month sees Unipol Student Homes launching a report undertaken by re'new into student housing in Nottingham, looking at the changing accommodation needs of students in the city.

The report, An Assessment of Student Residence and Housing Conditions in Nottingham, seeks to look at the number of students and where they lived in the City between 2007 and 2012 and also looks forward from 2013.

It looks at the changes in student preferences and how these are being recognised in rent structures, the growth of purpose built accommodation and the contraction of student houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) in certain residential areas.

The research shows that while student numbers in the areas of Lenton, West Bridgford, The Meadows and St Ann's reduced between 2008 and 2012, the City Centre saw a significant increase in this time, with the development of new purpose built accommodation expected to result in further shifts in the future.

The report is based on extensive research into the market conditions in Nottingham since 2007. The written report examines the changing landscape of Higher Education in tandem with the housing market conditions, offers insight into the impact of the development of purpose built accommodation and, in light of the increasing bed-space surplus, suggestions for action in the areas of Nottingham that has already seen some student HMOs getting less popular.

Martin Blakey, Chief Executive of Unipol said:

"We are pleased to have worked with Nottingham City Council, re'new and both universities to produce a first-rate report that shows the days of ever increasing student numbers living in HMOs in Nottingham are over.

"Student numbers are stable whilst the new student complexes in Nottingham are increasing supply - put simply, at the moment there are fewer students than there used to be with more accommodation available.

"This increased choice should see student housing standards improve but students leaving houses represents a planning challenge for the City as houses move from student accommodation into other housing uses."

Executive Assistant for Housing, Councillor Alex Ball, said:

"We welcome this research as an insight into what is happening in the student housing market in Nottingham. The research confirms that we have been successful in encouraging purpose-built accommodation, since far more family housing would have been converted to HMOs without it. We are exploring a number of the possible interventions the report suggests to further address changes in the housing market in areas where there are high numbers student HMOs. We will continue to improve the standard of accommodation for students in HMO accommodation through the Nottingham Standard accreditation and additional Licensing scheme.

"We recognise that future purpose-built provision needs to have a much greater appeal to returning students who want a shared living, community-based offer, and we will look at good practice elsewhere to achieve this. The city centre should continue to be the focus for this, and the high quality transport network, particularly the addition of the two new tram lines, will further support this."

To download and read the full report and the executive summary please click https://www.unipol.org.uk/getmedia/d21ff0c4-06a0-4441-9b26-19d6e6d43ffe/NottinghamStudentHousingMarketResearch.pdf.aspx