Amber Beat Global Student Accommodation Market News - February 2026, Week 03

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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 February 14-February 20, 2026

United Kingdom

• UK international MRes enrolments rise 135% year-on-year, prompting Home Office scrutiny over potential abuse of research visa route amid exemption from dependants ban (Source)
• UCL agrees £21M settlement with 6,500 former students over Covid-era online teaching dispute (Source)
• More than 170,000 students initiate compensation claims against UK universities over Covid-era online learning, including Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter and Imperial College London (Source)
• Russell Group calls for PhD, scholarship and short-term exchange student exemptions from proposed international student levy (Source)
• Welsh universities face £94M combined deficit as six of eight institutions post losses, prompting calls for systemic reform (Source)
• UK PBSA rents continue to outpace inflation in 2025, occupancy eases to 91%, stock reaches 755,374 beds, recording €5.9B in transactions (Source)
• Alumno breaks ground on £23M 262-bed Glasgow PBSA, targeting completion for 2027 academic year (Source)
• Maslow Capital provides £116.6M development finance for 609-bed Wembley PBSA (Source)
• Torsion progresses 205-bed Kirkstall Road PBSA in Leeds following Gateway 2 approval, targeting September 2027 completion (Source)
• Watkin Jones secures Gateway 2 approval for 201-bed Freestone Road PBSA in Bristol, targeting 2027/28 delivery (Source)
• Hanro Group secures Newcastle City Council approval for 432-bed student housing scheme (Source)
• Orford House Developments secures planning for 377-bed PBSA scheme in Norwich (Source)
• PH8 Investments secures planning approval for 22-unit Princess Street PBSA in Wolverhampton (Source)
• Atelier completes £26.2M development loan cycle on 196-studio Warwick PBSA following refinance (Source)

United States of America

• US international scholar numbers rise 3.5% to 115,000 in 2024/25, but experts warn policy volatility could shrink future pipeline (Source)
• Education Department highlights improved rollout of 2026–27 FAFSA, earliest launch on record, 96% user satisfaction, stronger fraud controls, and faster support response times (Source)
• Carnegie Mellon University and MIT account for nearly $1B of $5.2B in foreign funding reported by US colleges in 2025 (Source)
• Education Department begins 2027–28 FAFSA process, plans clearer questions and easier renewals, targeting October 2026 launch and seeking public input (Source)
• $160M Ivy Corridor student housing project to deliver 750+ beds by 2027 amid surge in upperclass housing demand in Virginia (Source)

Australia

• Australia’s university enrolments rise to record highs in 2026 with social work up 19% YoY, engineering up 9%, science up 8%, and nursing/teaching up 6% (Source)
• Coalition proposes raising student visa work-rights limit from 48 to 60 hours per fortnight from 1 July 2026, potentially boosting AU$334M tax (Source)
• Australia-bound Pearson PTE data shows India as the leading nationality in a globally diverse, migration-oriented test cohort across 539 centres in 121 countries in 2025 (Source)
• Australia now refusing some Subclass 500 student visas where similar transnational education (TNE) courses are available in applicants’ home countries, tightening “genuine student” assessments (Source)
• Australia’s AUD 2,000 student-visa fee (world’s highest) cut 2025 study visa applications -14% overall, with ELICOS down -39%, VET -35%, and visa grants at lowest in 20 years (Source)
• Scape Australia to welcome 10,500 new students for Semester One, filling almost 20,000-bed PBSA portfolio to capacity and signalling strong sustained demand (Source)
• Adelaide planning approved $400M, 33-storey student housing at 88 North Terrace with 1,002 rooms, amenities and construction set for 2026-28 (Source)
• Coronation Property’s Precinct 75 Build-to-Rent in Sydney enters its next chapter as Nation prepares to operate the mixed-use development with residential and retail components (Source)

Canada

• Ontario will end its public university/college tuition freeze since 2019, allowing annual increases to support finances while adjusting student aid to balance cost and access (Source)
• Canada sees new international student arrivals collapse ~61% in 2025 - only 115,470 entered vs 293,060 in 2024 after visa policy clampdown (Source)
• Canada’s IRCC backlog surpasses 1 million applications, slowing student processing and compounding delays for international students amid broader immigration pressures (Source)
• Montreal’s $845M plan to convert the former Royal Victoria Hospital into ~1,150 student housing units highlights high redevelopment costs per bed (Source)
• Dalhousie University approves $67.4M, 213-bed housing complex with year-round leases and self-contained units, opening fall 2028 to expand student living options (Source)
• Ericsson invests $1M in three-year University of Toronto partnership to advance AI-powered mobile network research and develop graduate talent (Source)

Europe

• Germany’s international student enrolments reached about 420K in 2025-26 (up 4% YOY), with first-timers at 99K (9% increase) and rising English-taught demand, data from DAAD reveals (Source)
• France aims to triple Indian student intake from ~10,000 to 30,000 by 2030, promising simplified long-stay visas and streamlined admissions to boost study mobility (Source)
• European University Cyprus rising as Med & Health Sciences hub with 5-star rating in QS Stars University Ratings 2024, Times Higher Education top-501+ subject ranking for 2026 (Source)
• Spain attracts Indian students as QS-ranked universities, structured student-to-work pathways, work-up-to-30 hrs/week rules and predictable costs boost its appeal, with ~4.3% of 2.35M international students (Source)
• Netherlands reverses plans to curb English-taught degrees, launching €1.5B (US$1.7B) funding push to attract international students amid slower enrolment growth (Source)
• Ireland sees record 13,000 Indian students enrolled in 2025, reflecting growing preference for Irish higher education (Source)
• Ireland to review and potentially cut English-language student intake after 60,000 non-EU student visas granted in 2024, citing work-rule misuse and housing/labour pressures (Source)
• Université Paris-Saclay launches a global alumni network of ~500,000 potential members to connect graduates internationally and boost professional and academic opportunities (Source)
• Ireland student bed shortage hits at least 38,900 across Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, intensifying accommodation challenges for university students (Source)
• Eurostat: 56% of young EU residents (15-34) work in jobs matching their field of education, with highest alignment in health, ICT and education sectors (Source)
• Finnish city Vaasa builds energy-efficient student village to cut housing waitlists and offer affordable, modern rentals amid rising demand and rising student costs (Source)