Students looking for private rental home are most likely to use Google rather than a property portal or university accommodation bureau in their search.
With 90% of students owning smartphones, they are likely to look for next year’s accommodation while out and about rather than on a computer.
Google was the preferred choice for 52% of students who took part in a series of focus groups and a survey of 1,500 students nationwide. Google was followed by the website accommodationforstudents, which commissioned the research.
The key offline resources for students searching for somewhere to live are university accommodation offices and letting agents.
When looking at where to live, the most important factor to a 58% majority of students was proximity to university, but with price the most influential factor in making the final choice. Most students in private rental accommodation were generally more satisfied that they were getting value for money than those in private or university halls of residence.
Seven out of ten students feel that inclusive rents are important as this helps them keep track of their finances, while almost nine out of ten (88%) considered a fast internet connection the most important feature about a property.
The majority of students (66%) who responded to the survey lived in properties which were managed by landlords and letting agents, and almost 60% of these had a positive relationship with them.
However, students reported a wide range of issues with landlords – the most frequently cited related to communication issues: either a perceived lack of response on maintenance issues (40%) or a general lack of communication (32.5%).
Just over half (51%) of students felt their deposit had been unfairly withheld.
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They would say that wouldn't they.