City Centre ‘Studentification’ is a Chance For Landlords To Clean Up Their Act

Wednesday December 2, 2015

The ‘studentification’ of Newcastle city centre, and other cities like it, is certainly a talking point in the property industry.

I warmly welcome the increase in bespoke student accommodation in and around the city. For too many years the standard of dedicated student property has been left at pretty poor levels, or ignored altogether.

The project really putting the subject on the map in the North East has been the one that has seen the the old Liquid nightclub face the bulldozers (and with it some memories of our youth many of us may rather forget anyway!).

But there are some other wonderful-looking developments now close to completion on the other side of the city centre in and around the lower end of St James’ Boulevard.

High populous student accommodation like this has its immediate economic benefits for those in and around those areas and stops them from becoming dead zones after the commuters have dispersed.

So as manager of a number of properties in student-friendly areas of Newcastle, I’ve seen two responses to it.

Firstly, we’ve seen landlords reducing rent in a bid to keep their houses full. This ‘race to the bottom’ is not something we recommend or like.

The second is the landlord who realises that the standard of accommodation and service on offer needs to improve. This is where Heaton Property can step in and help.

The landlords and their agents who are providing a higher level of accommodation and service are doing so by applying a simple rule of thumb: treat students as you would treat young professionals, which is exactly what these students will become in a few short years.

Need proof? A recent request for a dining table to seat eight puts the notion of students eating instant noodles while sat on the floor firmly to bed. A nice garden, off-road parking and discreet enquiries about the neighbours have now become commonplace requests from students.

More bespoke blocks means that students will justifiably demand a higher standard. Landlords and their agents reacting positively to that will be the ones who prosper.

Who knows, perhaps we can even consign that grotty student flat image to the dustbin of history.