StuRents' Q1-2026 Webinar: Poll results

We recently hosted our Q1-2026 webinar, where we explored the latest student accommodation trends and insights and shared our outlook on what lies ahead for the sector. We were joined by Unite Students’ Kim Nisbett, who shared their perspective on how student demographics are evolving and how the market is responding. Here, we look at sector sentiment through attendee poll answers and compare them to the results of our 2025 Annual Webinar – hosted at the end of last year.

If you missed the webinar, you can request access to the full recording here.

Sector sentiment and attendee poll

Note: analysis based on approximately 170 responses for each question.

The first question for attendees was their current expectation for rental growth in the 2026-27 academic year. Just over half of the respondents believed there would be 1-2% growth, with 16% taking a more reserved view at less than 1% growth. While around 30% of people were anticipating growth of 3-4%, only 2% were very optimistic with growth expectations of 5% or above. While there is some optimism in the responses, the general outlook is more conservative – reflective of wider trends we’re seeing nationally.

These results are similar to those from last year’s annual webinar, where just under half of respondents believed there would be 1-2% growth, 15% expected less than 1%, 36% expected 3-4% and just 1% expected 5% or more.

Source: StuRents' Q1-2026 Webinar

Moving to the topic of leasing velocity, we asked attendees about their expectations for 2026-27 occupancy rates compared to last year. A neutral outlook received 45% of votes, with 39% of attendees expecting velocity to be down year-on-year. Just 16% think next year will have improved leasing rates compared to 2025-26.

These results are more pessimistic than those from the previous webinar, where a neutral outlook received 54% of votes, and 28% of attendees were expecting velocity to be down year-on-year.

Source: StuRents' Q1-2026 Webinar

Finally, we asked webinar attendees how their view of the student accommodation market more generally has shifted in the last quarter. While 15% of respondents have become more optimistic, neutral or pessimistic responses make up the vast majority of votes, with more than half feeling negative about the market overall. This follows a tough year for occupancy, as well as an unclear picture of where student demand is heading.

These results are very similar to those from the previous webinar, where just 17% of respondents were feeling more optimistic.

Source: StuRents' Q1-2026 Webinar

Combining responses into an aggregated view (by assigning numerical values to optimistic, neutral and pessimistic responses), there was a pessimistic sentiment to the student accommodation market overall, with around 74% of respondents indicating negative or pessimistic sentiment across all three questions.

This is similar to the results from the last webinar, where 80% of respondents were feeling pessimistic overall, however, the proportion of optimistic attendees has increased from 10% to 25% this quarter.

While data indicates that planning activity and investment has been slowing, and many markets continue to lease slower compared to previous years, some markets are still facing a real shortage in student beds. The right kind of data is critical in identifying these city or intra-city locations and capitalising on the opportunities early.

Source: StuRents' Q1-2026 Webinar

For more information about our proprietary, highly granular data covering UK student accommodation, contact the StuRents Research team today. Book a demo of our Data Portal to find out how you can have up-to-the-minute university housing insights at your fingertips, or get in touch with us about our Occupancy Survey.