The rise and rise of Purpose-Built Student Accommodation in Deptford
A growing number of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) tower blocks have appeared in Deptford and Lewisham town centre. As developers move into the highly profitable sector, campaigners say PBSA does nothing to address housing need.
Campaigners are fighting to save Scott House, Deptford where developer Aitch group plans to build a 35 story PBSA tower block. In 2021, plans were approved to build 137 homes on the site. But in March 2024, a different planning application was submitted to provide 502 student bedrooms.
Local residents are concerned at the rapid increase in PBSA development in north Lewisham and across neighbouring boroughs.
"PBSA is like a pandemic, it's broken out all over London," said Malcolm Cadman from Pepys Community Forum.
Click on a location to see address, year of approval and no. of units
The majority of Lewisham's approvals have been in the north of the borough.
PBSA offers a private sector upgrade to traditional university-owned accommodation. In addition to basic bedrooms in a "cluster", it provides a range of higher priced accommodation options including larger rooms and studio apartments, with facilities such as gyms, cafés and roof terraces.
Does PBSA help address the housing crisis?
Councils are permitted to count PBSA rooms towards their housing delivery targets, using a ratio of 2.5 : 1. The planned Scott House development of 502 students rooms would count as equivalent to 200 homes, in terms of the target.
However, Caitlin Colquoun from Southwark Law's Planning Voice project and local campaigners have challenged the council's presumption that more PBSA will help address Lewisham's housing crisis.
The council's position is that new PBSA will be used by local students who would otherwise be seeking accommodation in the private rented sector. If they move into PBSA, this reduces pressure on the private rental market, indirectly helping individuals and families in housing need.
But the existing high level of PBSA provision in Lewisham suggests that the local student demand for student accommodation may already be met.
3,762 student beds have been approved since 2015. (The final column for 2025-26 shows Scott House, which if approved would bring another 502 student beds.)
PBSA housing may prove too expensive for many students, this would also fail to remove them from the private rented sector.
How affordable is PBSA for students?
Accounting firm PWC found that the average annual rent for private PBSA in London in 2023/24 was £19,706, while the maximum maintenance loan available to students in London - if they met certain conditions - was £13,200. They concluded that this makes most PBSA unaffordable for students.
Under the London Plan, boroughs are expected to negotiate with developers to secure as much Affordable Student Accommodation (ASA) as possible within PBSA plans, with planning guidelines outlining target levels.
Affordable student bedrooms are offered in the "cluster" format of up to nine individual rooms with a shared kitchen, similar to traditional university halls of residence.
ASA rent is capped at 55% of the maximum student maintenance loan for students in London. The maximum loan is available to students who are studying in London, living away from parents/guardians and have a parent/guardian household income of £25,000 or less.
For the academic year 2024/25, the maximum maintenance loan was £13,348. But the majority of students receive less maintenance loan than this and most students are working as well as studying to pay rent.
The current ASA rent cap for 2024/25 is £7,341 or £830 per month (for a 38 week year), making even "affordable" student accommodation out of reach for many students.
The appeal for investors
Investors in PBSA are taking advantage of London's steep increase in private rents and new landlord/ownership models that are not available for traditional university-owned accommodation.
They are profiting particularly from rents from the premium accommodation, marketed at students with independent financial resources.
This makes PBSA an attractive real-estate sector for investors, offering good profits while long-term demand is considered strong and the investment low-risk.
Is there over-concentration of PBSA in north Lewisham?
The London Plan Guidance for PBSA advises that PBSA development should contribute to "mixed and inclusive neighbourhoods".
It recommends that boroughs set a "threshold of concern", consider the risks of "concentration and dominance" in a small area and review pressures on infrastructure and services (eg GPs).
Campaigners believe that PBSA development in Deptford has long passed the threshold of concern.
The Scott House planning application is awaiting stage 2 approval from the London mayor.
The three images above locate some of the recent and planned PBSAs in Lewisham's urban landscape.
The charts and maps in this article use data reported by Lewisham council to the London Datastore, then verified on its planning portal. If you spot errors or discrepancies, please let us know by emailing info@salamandernews.org or use our Contact form.
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