Amber Beat: Global Student Accommodation Market News - April, 2025, Week 04

About Amber Beat

Missed keeping track of all the latest happenings in the student accommodation market?

Amber Beat is a weekly snapshot of the key developments in top student accommodation markets.  This newsletter provides you with all the information you need to know, from new upcoming projects to current trends, news affecting students to government policies, we’ve got you covered!

Amber Beat | News from April 18-24, 2025

United Kingdom

• UK Renters' Rights Bill under detailed review in Lords; 6-day committee stage underway with key amendments on subletting, student tenancies, and notice periods (Source)
• Build-to-rent and student housing lead UK investor demand with yields at 4.5% and 4.3%, reports Excellion Capital (Source)
• true Sheffield PBSA tops out at 28 storeys, delivering 494 beds and Sheffield’s second-tallest building (Source)
• Mapletree sells 756-bed Scotland student housing portfolio to CVC DIF, boosting Ottoway platform to over 5,000 beds in UK (Source)
• Empiric acquires Selly Oak Apartments for £9M, expanding Birmingham portfolio to 430 beds amid rising student demand (Source)
• Nottingham City Council set to approve 247-bed student accommodation near Victoria Centre (Source)
• Ambassador Group and Clark Contracts break ground on £30M, 273-bed student accommodation development at Osborne Street, Glasgow (Source)
• Collegiate UK expands Cambridge footprint with new partnership, managing 245 Passivhaus-certified rooms at St John’s College (Source)
• Dominus secures planning for Old Wynd PBSA in Glasgow, featuring 173 studios and amenities to address city's 24,973 student accommodation gap (Source)
• GMI Construction begins £17M Foss Islands Road PBSA project in York, delivering 131 premium studios and 2 one-bedroom apartments (Source)

United States of America

• Over 1,000 international students lose visas under Trump crackdown across 130+ U.S. schools in 40 states (Source)
• Interest in US postgrad study drops 44%, with sharp declines from India, Bangladesh, Iran, and other countries amid Trump's policies and visa issues (Source)
• Trump targets Harvard’s $53B endowment, freezes $2.7M in grants, and challenges 27% international student body in policy clash (Source)
• US colleges face financial uncertainty as Trump administration visa revocations threaten international student enrollment (Source)
• Chinese students reconsider US study plans as Trump’s immigration policies and visa revocations prompt shift to UK institutions (Source)
• Newmark arranges sale of 1,248-unit, 3,693-bed student housing portfolio across Florida, Texas, Indiana, and North Carolina (Source)
• Landmark Properties revises plans for 550-bed student housing complex in State College after encountering 1971 deed restriction (Source)
• Purdue University Northwest breaks ground on Calumet Hall, 150-bed student residence in Hammond, Indiana, set to open Fall 2026 (Source)
• Mesa West refinances $133.9M, 750-bed Rambler Athens student housing near University of Georgia, completed in 2024 at 558 W. Broad St. (Source)
• BYU-Idaho enforces Fall 2025 age cap for student-approved housing in Rexburg; students 26+ must seek community housing (Source)

Australia

• Australia to slash permanent migration by 25% and cap international students, down from 850,000, claiming it will free up 40,000 homes in year one amid a 25% rent surge and 1.8M arrivals over five years (Source)
• Australian Department of Home Affairs flagged 25% of Indian student visa applications to Australia as non-genuine, with dropouts’ trend suggesting misuse of study pathways for employment reasons, especially from Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat (Source)
• Australia’s Opposition proposed cap on international student intake at 240,000 and increasing visa fees to $5,000 for Go8 universities, receives backlash from critics warning of negative impacts on education sector (Source)

Canada

• New Brunswick provides $1.1M funding to Université de Moncton and UNB for student housing feasibility studies (Source)
• Canada urged to unlock vacant buildings and launch national fund to address student housing crisis, attract global academic talent amid U.S. policy shifts (Source)
• Atlantic Canada students struggle with 30% summer rent hikes, unreliable sublets, and housing shortages in Charlottetown (Source)
• Conestoga College converts 12-story tower at 22 Frederick St., Kitchener into student housing as leases expire; Brantford and Kitchener campuses relocate in 2024 (Source)
• Indian student numbers in Canada, US, UK drop simultaneously for the first time in four years due to tighter immigration policies and visa restrictions in 2024 (Source)

Europe

• Ireland becomes UK’s largest EU student provider with 13% of EU applicants in 2023-24 (Source)
• Mchugh gets green light for 586-bed PBSA in Galway, Ireland, bringing total to 843 beds across Coolough Road (Source)
• SIM and CROUS La Réunion-Mayotte partner to accelerate student housing construction for University of Mayotte's 6,000-student goal by 2030 (Source)
• University of Bath announces plans for eight new accommodation blocks to provide 960 student residences (Source)
• Livensa Living announces the opening of its third Barcelona residence, offering 538 beds across 334 fully equipped rooms (Source)