Students share concerns about PBSA living

Manor Interiors, the expert in build-to-rent furnishing solutions, has revealed the biggest concerns shared by students when it comes to their time spent in purpose-built student accommodation.

Manor Interiors surveyed 1,000 current and former students and found that 94% of them generally felt safe while staying within university or privately owned student halls.

However, 28% did state they found the ability of non-residents to gain access to the building concerning, with 23% also worried that there was often no one immediately on hand to help in the event of a problem or emergency.

18% also felt the property could be more secure to prevent non-residents from gaining access, while the ability for residents of their block to gain easy access to other floors was also a worry.

When it came to the wider area in which their halls were located, the main concerns for 28% were the fact that their accommodation was hard to reach via public transport at night and that it was also in a more secluded part of town.

In terms of general university life, initially living with flatmates they had never met before was the main concern for 47%, while 34% were also worried about living away from family and friends for the first time.

CEO of Manor Interiors, Farhan Malik, commented:

“For most of us, university is our first real experience of living independently and so there’s always going to be a degree of worry associated with this time in our lives.

Despite this, it’s reassuring to see that the vast majority of students feel safe when living in their university halls. However, concerns remain and so it’s important that we continue to consider location, existing local infrastructure, design, security, access and many more factors when it comes to the design and construction of PBSA projects.

Now more than ever the safety of students needs to be of the utmost importance and this should be placed above all else during every phase of the PBSA construction life cycle.”

Survey of 1,101 existing and former UK students carried out by Manor Interiors via consumer research platform Find Out Now (8th October 2021).

You recently told us you lived in university halls (university or privately owned), did/do you feel safe staying in your student accommodation?
Answer	Totals
Yes	94%
No	6%

Thinking about its location, did any of the below worry you? (Tick all that apply)
Answer	Totals
It was hard to reach via public transport at night	28%
It was in a secluded part of town	28%
It was in a busy part of town	24%
It was in a rough part of town	20%

Thinking about the property, did any of the below worry you? (Tick all that apply)
Answer	Totals
Non-residents gaining access to the building	28%
Often no one is on hand to help in the event of a problem or emergency	23%
The property itself wasn’t very secure (e.g cheap/singular door lock)	18%
Residence from different properties gaining access to my floor	18%
It wasn’t very well lit during the evening	13%

Thinking about university life, did any of the below worry you? (Tick all that apply)
Answer	Totals
Living with flatmates I didn’t previously know	47%
I was living alone away from family and existing friends	34%
I was vulnerable when out on a night out/drinking	19%