Portsmouth: A Cheap Option For Students
A national survey has placed Portsmouth as the 7th cheapest place in the country for students and the most affordable in the South East – affordability is calculated by dividing living costs by average monthly income, and as Portsmouth rates highly for student earning potential in the local community, that does improve Portsmouth's affordability ranking significantly but, the very low private sector rents are also significant.
What Was The Survey
6,186 students were surveyed to determine the most affordable place to study. The survey considered a range of factors, including how much students spend going out and the income they earn from part-time work.
Rents have increased again this year, and faster than inflation, with an average increase of 17 per cent. However, Portsmouth was ranked the third cheapest for rent, with an average total monthly cost of £532. That's almost half the price of what students in London have to pay (£1,032), and £157 cheaper than the overall UK average.
Students in the city also have high monthly incomes - averaging at £1,887 - securing it the 11th spot in the index when it comes to earning a living.
Meanwhile, the average cost of a night out in the city is around £31, the fourth cheapest in the UK.
Chris Chang, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement and Student Life), said: "Portsmouth has so much to offer—beaches, great places to eat, cool indie shops, music venues, and plenty of green space—all without breaking the bank for students.
"Affordability, coupled with our commitment to academic excellence and student support, makes Portsmouth an ideal destination for University. We are dedicated to providing an enriching and accessible environment where students can thrive both academically and personally."
The NatWest Student Living Index results follow Portsmouth being ranked in the top 20 universities in England for academic support in the annual National Student Survey (NSS). It was also ranked 27th for teaching.
See the full survey results here: Student Living Index 2024 | University Living Costs | NatWest
Why Portsmouth Did So Well
With rooms in student halls costing £700 a month or more, Portsmouth's 'average rent' of £532 was well below the average of £689 and you would have to go to Newcastle or Sheffield to find cheaper.
You may ask, if a halls room costs more than £700, how the average rent is only £532? Well, firstly, it is because a shared room in a Portsmouth house is relatively cheap (although the average has increased over 50% as a result of local regulations, as predicted by the PDPLA in 2022). It is also because many landlords still abide by the University 'policy' which until recently mandated 10-month contracts (when everyone else contracts for 12 months and Portsmouth contracts for 10, it is automatically 20% cheaper even if rent levels are the same).
In defence of the Uni, local landlord Simon Fletcher said, "their cheapest halls on a 40 week contract are not a bad deal on an annualised budget. So we should make a distinction between what Freshers have access to versus options for 2nd year on, where private halls are very expensive."
The Reality
Landlord, Diana Blanchard:
"My son has chosen Portsmouth predominantly due to finances as it is much cheaper than elsewhere and I don't know if any other places where students take a contract less than a full 12 months. I own a property that has been a student let for over 20 years so the fact he and friends could rent it next year is also a bonus .
My other son is at Reading - he went in through clearing and had to take a 44 week contract with their partner provided halls (was owned by Unite and then sold to homes for students around the time of A level results ) whereas the university owned accommodation was 40 weeks . The accommodation cost £858 a month for a small room with en-suite and shared kitchen - it was probably nice when new but was looking very tired and I suspect that's why Unite sold it . His contract took him to July 17th but his exams finished at the end of May ! So he came back home . He then had to pay deposit and rent on July 1st for his new place but didn't move in until September . So not only was he paying rent on a place he wasn't living in but first 2 weeks he was having to pay rent for 2 places he wasn't living in and as you can imagine Reading is a lot more expensive than Portsmouth.
Both my sons receive the full maintenance loan and luckily had a job at McDonald's which they did through A levels and are able to go onto seasonal and get work in holidays although it's zero hours contract and there's been less shifts this year.
My eldest son's maintenance loan was £9750 and his accommodation cost for his first year halls was £8558 so his McDonald's job saved him but his first year experience was a bit of a wash out due to the accommodation cost and it was also half an hour walk from Campus . I had to be guarantor and it was that or nothing. Luckily he made friends with a flatmate who was doing a similar course and like him had just missed grade for Exeter and gone into clearing . The friend had friends who were in uni halls so they got to spend time there but if that hadn't been the case he says his uni experience would have been very grim. I made it clear he was committing before I signed as guarantor but one of the flat mates did drop out and I don't know what happened re rent and no other tenant came in. His second year has been much better as his rent with bills was around £580 and he was nearer to the university and going into his final year his accommodation is slightly less but it is still a lot more than Portsmouth and for 12 months. He's good at budgeting and isn't a big drinker / party guy so has been ok. He will come out with nearly £60k of loans which will only be wiped after 30 years.
My other son will come out with around the same amount but will be wiped after 40 years . Rent is the biggest cost for students so if you can reduce the cost that will certainly appeal to some. Obviously many parts of the North are cheaper but as students have term times and some like Reading have reading weeks factoring in the costs of travel is important. Also for parents if the university is a good 4 hours drive you don't want to do that on a day trip.
Letting to students is hard work and despite some of them appearing intelligent you do wonder. I had to remind my mechanical engineering masters student that leaving half eaten bowls of food on the floor was a sure way to invite vermin and flies ! I also reminded him that the property was professionally cleaned when they moved in and should be left same way and not to leave anything as it would cost a lot to remove. Despite this they left furniture, kitchen and electrical items and items in the sink , washing machine and under the bed - sigh."
Student Living
- Students are spending more time than ever in part-time work, with an average of 46.39 hours per month – a 153% increase compared to 2023.
- In perhaps a shift in mindset compared to students gone by, this year's cohort are choosing nights without alcohol when it comes to socialising. It's the most popular social activity, with 61% doing this at least once a fortnight or more.
- Household bills have jumped. In 2023, the biggest spend after rent was supermarket spend. This year, it's household bills, with an average spend of £157.78, up from £34.48.
- It's not just bills that have increased. The expected costs of student favourites have all gone up. Takeaways (8% YoY), a night out (8.1% YoY), coffee on campus (3.8% YoY) and a meal out (4.8% YoY) have all seen jumps.
- For the second year in a row, Lancaster has the cheapest student pint. However, for the first time, it's crossed the £4 mark at £4.17. On the other hand, 21% of London-based students say they'd expect to pay between £7 and £8 for a cold one.
What Should You Do?
Obviously your property portfolio, however large or small, is your own business and you should manage it to best match your personal aims and objectives (in spite of PCC's view that they should decide how you operate).
Based on this survey, we as local landlords are under-selling our service and both the University and the city are benefiting at our expense because we offer cheaper accommodation than any other city in the South East.
Our recommendation is that you seriously consider your cost of operation, you factor in the full annual cost of the property including council tax and the effort required to manage the property and the tenants, you start with a comparable investment in a bank, which will give you a near 5% ROI at present, and you look to ensure that your return justifies the effort involved. Remember, you can no longer rely on capital gains (especially bearing in mind the likely budget changes coming later this year). Landlord, Julian Lloyd says, "Do not forget the amount of work is involved in a student let in the summer - to repaint, repair, replace and clean is a large job each year!"
For students, we recommend at least 11 month contracts and we strongly recommend NOT housing those coming from PCC unless you charge a significant premium to reflect the significant extra workload involved.
Also, given that a reasonable 3-bed property in the city will let for £1,300-1,500/month without any bills included, the same property with all bills will need to return at least 35% more. Given that, with a student let, that will need to be recouped over say, 11 months, would mean an absolute minimum rent of £550 per room. Are you charging enough?