Tackling the Crisis: How UK is Fighting Chinese Agents' Fake Student Accommodation Reservations

Several students have been found booking student accommodations in multiple cities, indicating indecision about their preferred location. As per the recent UK housing news, while many countries around the world are going through a student accommodation crisis, fake bookings are a new set of problems that have surfaced in recent times. 

Amidst the ongoing UK housing crisis, the growing number of students in the top cities has caught the UK in a tight spot, grappling with unforeseen challenges. Heretic agents based out in the Chinese marketplaces are reportedly engaging in bulk-booking rooms in various PBSA setups in the UK. Subsequently, cancel the reservations as their city preferences change, often when students enrol in a different university. UK student accommodation operators are facing a significant challenge because of this. 

The Director of Student Housing Consultancy, Daniel Smith, has stated, “It was a massive problem.” This has actually caused a lot of confusion and miscalculation in terms of the availability of student housing in UK. This ongoing crisis of fake bookings has majorly affected cities such as Glasgow, Durham, York, and Bristol. He further added, “They found themselves, even at the premium end of the market, having to work really hard to sell those rooms in September.”

As perer reports, the individuals created counterfeit email IDs to book their student housing in UK. Upon the confirmation of multiple bookings associated with these deceptive IDs, operators discerned a pattern, revealing that these reservations were intended as a contingency plan. The scheme also involves reselling this UK student accommodation at a higher cost to another student in urgent need. 

Although these “fake” students were said to be paying the deposit amount, the operators couldn’t demand any down payment. This came in after the pandemic as operators have partially stopped asking for any payment to secure or reserve the accommodation.

Daniel Smith also stated “It was clear that some of them had put bookings early in the market to reserve that availability for later in the market.” This also highlighted how the industry prompts students to book as early as possible and cancel later, which these scammers use to their advantage.

Penny Zhan, Marketing Lead at VIVA City, who bridges the gap between student housing in UK and the Chinese market through WeChat, has analysed the analogy behind this action. She stated that the agents in China wanted to maintain a set of exclusive student accommodation UK to provide a variety to the students, hence multiple bookings. 

Although, the agents couldn’t sell all of them thus creating a difficult situation for the student housing operators. Even though these activities continue, the operators of student housing in UK are much more cautious, Smith stated. He, along with Zhan, has also requested the operators to be much more cautious and actively ask for the required deposit amount and identification of the students making the reservations. With amber, you can rest assured of guaranteed accommodation near your desired university without any hassle. Contact us to know more!