Housed: The Shared Living Podcast

Shared Living in 2026: PBSA, BTR, Co-Living & Later Living Predictions (or hopes!)

• Season 6 • Episode 2

Share episode

Send us a text

In this episode, Sarah Canning, Deenie Lee and Dan Smith look ahead to what 2026 will really mean for shared living — across PBSA, Build to Rent, co-living, university accommodation and later living.

We are sharing our predictions for this year:
- Where PBSA is likely to feel pressure — and where it will thrive
- How BTR continues to evolve as a mainstream rental product
- Why co-living’s growth will be quieter, but more meaningful
- What ongoing financial stress in higher education means for university accommodation
- Why rented later living remains one of the biggest long-term opportunities in housing

Stay up to date on Housed podcast via its LinkedIn page.

Dan Smith is Founder of RESI Consultancy and Co-Founder of Verbaflo.AI Good Management.

Sarah Canning and Deenie Lee are Directors and Co-Founders of The Property Marketing Strategists - Elevating Marketing in Property.

Thank you to our season four sponsors:
Mystudenthalls.com -  Reach thousands of students searching every month with 0% commission student accommodation listings.
Utopi - The smart building platform helping real estate owners protect the value of their assets.
Washstation - Leading provider of laundry solutions for Communal and Campus living throughout the UK and Ireland.

And our brand new sponsor:

Howden  - With a lifetime of expertise, Howden provides tailored insurance, property risk management, and wellbeing solutions for accommodation providers across the UK.

Who this episode is for:

  • PBSA and student accommodation professionals
  • BTR, co-living and rental operators
  • Property developers and investors
  • University and higher education leaders
  • Anyone working in or around housing policy and shared living

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of their employers, organisations, clients, or partners. This podcast is for general discussion and informational purposes only. Nothing said should be taken as professional, legal, financial, or investment advice. While we aim to be accurate, we make no guarantees and accept no liability for decisions made based on the content of this podcast.

SPEAKER_05:

Hello everyone, and we are back once again for a brand new episode of How's the Shared Living Podcast? This is episode two in season six. We'll be with you for the next few months to bring you the latest news, views, and insights from the rented shared living sectors. So if you work in and around PBSA, BTR, co-living, university accommodation, HMO, and rented later living sectors, you are in the right place. I'm Dan Smith from Resi Consultancy and Berberflow AI.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm Sarah Canning from the Property Marketing Strategist. And I'm Deanny Lee from the Property Marketing Strategist.

SPEAKER_05:

And now let's hear from our headline sponsor, MyStudentHalls.

SPEAKER_00:

Housed is sponsored by Spotlights Boost on mysudenthaals.com. Use SpotlightBoost to stand out in search results and drive more leads to your properties.

SPEAKER_05:

We're delighted Dan and the team from MyStudent Halls decided to be our headline sponsors once again. They are such a key part of the student accommodation marketing cycle. Great partners to us at House. They've been with us from the start. So thanks very much to Dan and the team at MyStudent Halls. Do go and get your properties listed with them. Also, a huge thank you to Wash Station, Utopia, and Howden. More from them later. So today we are doing one of our favourite things. Following up on our look back at some of our predictions from 2025, we are now looking forward in 2026. So we're going to be looking ahead. We're recording this at a moment where shared living feels very much like it's on the edge of some pretty significant change in terms of regulation, affordability, demographics, higher education, aging, AI, it's all colliding. So today we're going to share our predictions for the year ahead across five key sectors. That's PBSA, sort of student housing, build-to-rent, co-living, university accommodation, and rented later living. So we'll try to be as honest as we possibly can, not optimistic for the sake of it, and certainly not doom laden either. We're really keen to make sure that there is some positive realism in every sector at the moment. And I think we're probably best off starting with PBSA first of all, because this is where a lot of those shared living conversations still begin for all of us. So I mean 2025 was a pretty challenging year for PBSA as a whole, and you know, there was no area of the PBSA sector that was untouched by occupancy challenges in particular, and certainly no city as well. And when you look at the Stu Rentz data, it was roughly 6% behind year on year in terms of the occupancy for various different reasons, and that includes you know the growth of the shadow market, as we're calling it, um, in BTR and co-living, but also I think lots of issues around the likes of affordability. Now, what I can see is that PBSA is probably going to become more polarised. So I think the best schemes will perform very well as long as those pricing expectations are realistic, if they've got strong locations around good universities with flexible offers. But the middle ground is going to feel very squeezed. I also think there's going to be a a challenge with those investors that were looking for the short-term gains or the short-term holds compared to those that are very focused on the long term and more of an income play. I think that is a very safe bet. Yeah, what's uh what are your thoughts on that, Deany?

SPEAKER_03:

I have a hope that this is the year that PBSA realised that it's time to change and innovate. I think as you say, Dan, it was a different year again for PBSA, difficult, more difficult for some than others. And I think people are realising that we've got to change, but as you know, I still have a worry that the sector is quite slow to make that change. But I think it's so I I want to see change and I want to see innovation, but I think it's unlikely we're going to see much material difference this year. But I'm hoping that there's gonna be more planning going forward and more testing and more ways that people are kind of trying to see there's different ways we can go with the markets, more testing on flexible rooms, those kinds of things.

SPEAKER_05:

I think one thing that was really interesting about that is a post I put out on LinkedIn following up on a BBC article this weekend got quite a lot of traction actually for a Sunday, which which meant I was quite busy. But that was basically saying that you know we need more flexibility in in the models that we're putting forward because commuter students are uh increasing quite drastically, and for good reason, that students can no longer afford in a lot of cases to go to university because that cost of living is so high. What was really good to see is that a lot of the comments on that LinkedIn post were from people saying, We've tried this and we're now looking at this, and you know, a lot of universities were then saying uh to me on WhatsApp or on LinkedIn, we've we're doing this, like we are offering more facilities like showers and communal spaces and co-working spaces for commuter students because we've seen that they really need it. We're also offering, you know, one night, two-night stays at really reasonable prices. And and and you know, I know that we talked about it over the weekend as well, and and that you've seen you've seen people offering that too. And I think one of the key issues that we have from that is that it's very difficult to make the numbers stack up. I had several people say to me, like, it's not easy to make the numbers stack up on those nightly rates if you can make them affordable. It can't just be£100 a night, it has to be much more akin to sort of£20, maybe£50 a night if you're lucky. So that you could go to a ball, you could go to an event, you could do a late night and early morning lecture if you really need to. And I think with the more voids that we see in university halls, but also in PBSA, that is going to become more something that we we hopefully have to talk about more.

SPEAKER_03:

And I think that that is the the struggle that we have, is that it is difficult to make those numbers stack up. And I think the narrative's still very much in the PBSA world, it's not possible, let's not think about it. Whereas, as you say, I think universities have more leeway and more of a purpose in providing that to support those commuting students, which is why, you know, I'd love this to be a prediction, but I don't think it's going to happen. But I think it's why we need to see innovation from the ground up. This isn't about small tweaks we need in PBSA, this is about a complete change of how we operate, how we run, and how we build and how we renovate, maybe more apt as opposed to building, but I still don't think there's anyone brave enough in the sector to do it, unfortunately, which is why I don't think it's a prediction. But if you are brave enough, I'd love to touch you. I think I think that's where I'm a bit conflicted with this episode, to be honest, is I was trying to work out what is the difference between a prediction and a hope, and I'm not sure I've I've nailed it, but but I think based on what you just said, Deanny, I mean I'm seeing a lot of PBSA being given planning permission. You know, there's announcements all the time, which does worry me because what is being given permission for? Because if it's the same as what's always been given permission for, it's gonna be very, very sticky. They're gonna they're gonna struggle to fill based on a model that has has gone before. So that worries me because I feel like all of those underwrites need to be re-underwritten because I don't think that whatever they put into their you know the spreadsheet effectively, probably two, three years ago, is is gonna be the right model anymore. Everything has changed in that three years from international students to the way that courses are being run and to commuting students. So again, I I don't know if this is so much of a prediction but a a plea to to review in 2026, really, what you know that things need to change. What what I do know, and it's less of a prediction because several operators have told us they're looking into it, but they are looking into flexible stays, pricing ladders, more twin rooms. You know, we did say that after Property Week in December, there was a lot more yes people. There were a lot more people saying yes, it can it we're gonna try and do it. We haven't seen the evidence um in very many places. We have seen a few um isolated operators trying different things with their void rooms, but again, you know, universities I think are taking a different view on trying some of these things because they're probably less, you know, less bound to be making commercial decisions about having co-working spaces or having shower rooms or putting lockers in for commuting students. I don't think any of those things can't be done by PBSA, if I'm honest. I don't think that PBSA should have empty beds and do nothing with them. I think the social spaces are underutilised during the week, during the daytime, and could be welcomed for commuting students. There is something that can be done there, but I don't know how it can be monetized, or does it have to be monetized so much, or if you've got really great CSR and ESG policies, can it not just form part of just doing a really, really good thing?

SPEAKER_05:

So is this the year where we actually focus on what students really want? I think there's a lot of lip service that's traditionally paid to that by the PBSA sector in particular. I think universities have got a big opportunity to actually refocus on what students really want. And that is students who want uh to commute, some just want to commute, that's that's absolutely fine. Some of them actually can't afford to live on campus or off campus and have to commute. So is this where the year where we actually see universities really refocus on those students that you know and and supporting those students? Now they aren't as commercial as PBSA needs to be because they don't have to worry as much about investor returns, of course, as an element of financial viability, of course, around every university that they're struggling with at the moment. But I think that's where universities have got a real opportunity to say, look, stupid what students want, but what students want is changing quite drastically, not just in an era of AI, but in an era of affordability. And I think there's you know, there was talk of two-year degrees and what that might do, more apprenticeship degrees. Universities really have to start making some pretty drastic changes in order to stay relevant, and I think PBSA also has to buy proxy. So I think there will need to be a lot more flexibility. I think there will need to be more affordability within the sector. I mean, that goes without saying, it's pretty obvious, but you have to then refocus that on value. It shouldn't just be like all PBSA need to be offering cheap rooms. You know, I don't like the term cheap. It was Steve from Keckskill who um uh who actually refrained from saying cheap rooms that that university quarters and and um Keckskill were offering. It's great value rooms, and I think that's what we need to get back to in PBSA in particular, to really focus on that value for all students and what they're gonna want, in my opinion, and from seeing the studies and seeing where the numbers are going, is more affordability, uh more affordability and more flexibility. So if we actually do offer them that, the issue that we have is that the likelihood will be that there will be diminishing investor returns, less revenue, and obviously less of a return in in the long term for those investors. I can't see a way where you could maximize your revenue but offer uh maximum flexibility because everybody knows that you know you know they can offer short stays with various different short stay providers, and it doesn't necessarily it may help, it may be a marginal gain, it may, you know, give you a the extra sort of two to five percent. Who knows? Maybe that will be enough. But realistically, how do we make sure that we're giving students what they want? But that we're also then showcasing to investors that they can you know still get good returns whilst offering more flexibility? I'm not sure you can right now. So yeah, that's a it's a tricky one. So flexibility will probably become mainstream. That's kind of what we hope, anyway. But how about the marketing side of things? Sarah and Deanny, what are your predictions on that? Um, are we going to see more PBSA uh focus on amenities or are we gonna see them switch more to affordability and flexibility and actually thinking about those students?

SPEAKER_03:

I think what we've seen um at the kickoff of of this leasing season is still very much offer-led, um, and that's disappointing to see, and it's not the marketeers' fault, you know, we know it's because there's so much pressure on, you know, the invest from the investors, from finance, from everything. You know, make sure that you, you know, put this offer out, that offer out. Um, and that's not helping. We discussed that in our Christmas episode, that it's really hard for students to understand what the value of is of the proposition when all they can see are discounts and and offers. I don't think it's a prediction that that's going to change. Hopefully it is, but you know, I don't know if the I guess the marketing departments are are strong enough to kind of hold their own when they're being pressurized in so many ways by advertising special offers. You know, we're not seeing enough research or training going on. That's kind of a massive plug for the property marketing strategist, but you know, with with good intentions, um it doesn't have to be with us, but we would just like to see more investment being made into the marketing departments, but also um with training. You know, we always say that marketeers are only delivering leads, they're not the ones responsible for converting the sales, and that's really, really hard. We we did we've kicked off the year um with a training session, and you know, our training sessions are changing because the objections that students will have it are changing, and the teams need to be geared up for all of that because it's so competitive. You want your strongest team in place to be dealing with all of those leads and converting the sales.

SPEAKER_05:

I I think it's about time you started plugging some of your services, by the way, and by the way, guys, but I think that I would love this to be the year that we cancelled the cash back, but unfortunately, I think it's the year that investors in particular have again got their pricing wrong in certain uh certain locations and for certain assets from the start. Because the ideal is that you have a best price guarantee for your rebookers so they know that they're not gonna get undersold a bit later on, and you know, uh people who book in August will get a cheaper room than anyone who booked earlier, and I can see the cashbacks already. Any any cashback over 250 quid means that you've got your pricing wrong from the start. Why we are not putting our rents out at reasonable rates and then hopefully, you know, pushing those prices and and yielding those prices through the year. I I just don't know. And I think it's investor-led, I don't think it's operator-led, I think it's investors demanding that you know those returns are still on the table when they aren't. And that is going to be one of the major problems. I speak to various different investors, and I've got various investor clients. Uh, luckily, I've I'm I am I have very good investor clients who are very amenable and genuinely listen to the operators. But I know of plenty who have come to me and said, ha, we bought within the last two to three years, and these returns aren't what we thought they would be. The income is not there, the occupancy isn't there quite as much as we thought. Like, don't get me wrong, the income play is still very good for PBSA, but some of these underwrites post-COVID were wildly unrealistic. And that's what we're now dealing with. And I think this is probably the year when some last year was really when that got found out. I think that was 2025 was the year when a lot of investors went, hmm, hang on a minute. This is actually pretty hard. Occupancy's dipped by nearly six percent, our revenue isn't there, we're having to do more cashbacks. It is it is a lot tougher out there, without a doubt. And that's where people accuse me of being bearish. Well, the market is bearing that out. Like stew rents to come out and say, yeah, occupancy is six percent behind year on year. Like that is that is obvious. So I think this is probably the year where you know we are still going to see a lot of late cashbacks, a lot of marketplace, um, a lot of revenue going to marketplaces, and what we need to do is just totally recalibrate how we do the rents. You know, it you you will need to recalibrate.

SPEAKER_03:

I agree. I I would love it to be the year we don't see cashbacks anymore, but I don't think it is. I think we're still gonna see a lot of cashbacks going in. But I did just want to kind of make a bit of a prediction about kind of where I guess government and universities might go, which is going to impact PBSA, and I know we need to move on to other sectors, but I do think that we are gonna see a push from the government and young people around probably more practical degrees and apprenticeships, because I think there's news already about young graduate recruitment is struggling. Graduates are struggling to find jobs, and I think we're then gonna see a push for the government from going down degree levels or more practical education that isn't gonna be impacted by AI, jobs that aren't even being impacted by AI, and I think that is something the PBSA sector needs to be prepared for and adjust to. Um, and I think we need to get our ducks in a row and start talking about how we can make sure that apprentices are seen as part-time students, not part-time workers, um, and that's a real challenge for the sector, but they should be seen as part-time students, especially if that's the way that we're gonna get a push to get people into education and get them employed. That will require PBSA to have a change in in use because at the moment they can only take full-time students anyway. Um, but you're right, there's a warning there that everybody listening should should look into that and see what they can do to attract part-time students as well. And that just goes hand in hand with the flexibility that we've been talking about. You know, those part-time students may not need full-time accommodation, but from what we know about apprenticeships is they're very much focused on the major cities, which might result in migration of young people and that have to move to cities to do their apprenticeships, but maybe they want to go to their hometowns at at the weekend, you know. Maybe full-time students do as well and don't want to pay for those extra two, three days over a weekend. So, yeah, I think there's a lot to do and unpick with flexibility. You know, I probably can speak on behalf of the three of us hosts here that you know we'd love to be involved in those conversations, we'd love to, you know, help support operators and investors and developers in kind of problem solving and trying to work through some of those ideas and recommendations. I don't know if all of this is more of a hope than a prediction.

SPEAKER_05:

Well, we're we we're gonna have to talk about it. We we we ha because universities are having to think about it because the graduate outcomes are slipping, like less students are able to get into employment, and that's partly due to AI, but it's partly just due to the economy and the way that degrees are set up. I don't think universities are remotely set up to generate success for any graduate at the moment, to be completely honest. In an era of AI, when you start your degree in, let's say, graphic design, and then three months later realize that the whole thing that you were set up, the whole career you were set up to do has been almost replaced by AI, and you need to change to be able to use AI rather than just generate this the graphics with or design with with various bits of software. It it it's totally changing the way that the the the world of work operates. And I don't think universities are setting up students particularly well for it so far. And as a result, I think there will be some decision paralysis, certainly from postgrads. We've seen that. There was uh, you know, a 15 to 20 percent drop off in postgraduate numbers last year. I mean, that's pretty catastrophic. That's not even factoring in the fact that we uh you know the the um uh the government banning the dependent visas like that that is just the fact that students are not necessarily studying postgraduate degrees which were an absolute cash cow for universities so I think we've we almost need a reinvention it feels like it's business as usual for a lot of places but yeah we'll come on to university halls in a minute but it's it's just universities need almost complete reinvention in some way shape or form and I think that PBSA needs to become and university halls of course accommodation needs to become a big part of that but those degree apprenticeships are absolutely pivotal because they will focus students and those apprentices on the actual outcome I'm not sure that it's going to be okay to just go and study French and politics anymore and expect to then walk into a degree in the civil service I think you're going to need to be a lot more targeted about what you start studying and what you know you're going to walk into when you finish and that's where degree apprenticeships really come in. You get paid as you go as well but they are gold dust. How do you broaden them? How do you broaden the appeal? How do you make more people understand what they are? We need some serious apprentice champions apprenticeship champions you know and Dean yours I know you've got great experience with that and and that that is definitely something that we think is going to be part of the future but what the hell does that then look like for PBSA? I think that's that's going to be really interesting. You're going to need you're going to need Steve Reed and and the entire planning department to sort of step forward and say yeah okay cool you can you know you don't just have to be limited to students you can take apprentices you can take uh various others too because that will level the playing field as well between co-living BTR and PBSA too.

SPEAKER_03:

But we need to be taking control of our destiny in that and we're not we need to be speaking to the government about it now and and see it coming. But maybe that will happen. It's not a hope we'll see.

SPEAKER_05:

I agree and and you know we're at risk of spending the whole time and to be fair we actually probably could break this out into talking about each sector per episode but we will need to move on but I the lastly I do think this is the year that we start talking about 2030 and the demographic dip. Not to be to be a a doom monger too much but between 2030 and 2040 the number of 18 year olds even eligible to go to university will drop by around 20%. That is a significant drop-off and it is extremely concerning when it is it seems to be that domestic students are you know what is almost saving the day at the moment um for some PBSA operators. The international numbers will probably remain volatile I would say depending on uh you know geopolitical factors and affordability pressures you know we've seen a drop-off in Indian students Chinese students undergrads look look okay postgrad numbers are down so yeah we we are going to need to start thinking about what PBSA looks like beyond 2030 and you know whether we're still building the right stock. 47% of the stock that we're building is studio stock. Is that because it's what students want I would question that. I would say it's what makes the numbers stack up which really sets us up as a house of cards with everything to come crashing down. And that all being said within PBSA there are some serious opportunities out there to really you know use those tailwinds because there are some tailwinds out there to not necessarily generate the returns of old I think they've gone. I think we need to really be focused on the fact that we're a mature sector and we're looking for long-term institutional capital with steady returns. And I think that's where any investor aligned with that is going to do very well in the right locations focusing on Russell group in particular because tier one tier two and tier three universities are really going to struggle for numbers and from a financial viability perspective but there are still some opportunities out there both in building and acquiring assets. So whilst we have sort of focused on a lot of headwinds I think that is um yeah an opportunity there are plenty of opportunities out there.

SPEAKER_04:

Anyway let's now hear from utopia. Utopia is the trusted partner for high performance asset management cutting energy costs reducing risk and delivering proven ESG results.

SPEAKER_05:

Billions of data points and 7500 rooms monitored utopia turns real-time intelligence into measurable value protecting investments and driving continuous improvement choose intelligence that delivers choose utopia thanks very much to the team at utopia they have been with us for quite a few seasons now and we see them everywhere and for good reason they are delivering excellent value across the board for shared living operators so do get in touch with them with anything with regards to energy management and the data behind it and how to control it at Utopia are the people to get in touch with so thanks very much to the team there for sponsoring. So now on to BTR build to rents and this feels like a sector that everyone is is quietly watching. I think it's at it's roughly at about fifth thousand beds including the the the um pipeline where the spades are in the ground it's been an interesting year for BTR I think because it feels like it's maturing and by that I mean we've talked at length about the fact that there are a lot of students living in BTR and I think the narrative is starting to switch to yes there is an acceptance that students are living in BTR and they choose it for good reason because they like the flexibility, the amenities not necessarily living with loads of other students I would still say that probably around 30% from some of the stats that we've seen from Price Hubble 30% of BTR is taken up by students on a nationwide basis and we've seen that you know from the from the price Hubble stats. But it does feel like there is much more maturity in that you know two years maybe three years post completion for these BTR projects that are relatively new you're seeing less and less students living there. Now that's not across the board but that was just taken from the Verve Life and Harris Associates study that we saw the other day. It was a good report and it was just explaining that you know BTR is maturing it does take less students in year two and year three because it is curating that community of young professionals. So I think that is you know that is quite an interesting one but yeah Deanny what what are your thoughts on BTR? Are you positive about it?

SPEAKER_03:

I think I'm relatively positive about BTR. I think it's in an interesting position we already know the students are living in it. With the Rentis Right Act coming in this year for definite I think it gives it a good ground because it can offer that flexibility that HMOs can that PBSA won't be able to through its exemption or or won't through its exemption. So it kind of sits in a good kind of middle ground where people students trust it and it can take non-students and everyone and give a degree of flexibility but I still think that there is a risk of BTR that it it needs to look at that product diversity. I think we're still building for one type of customer at kind of one type of price range and that isn't what we need from a housing perspective. Again not sure we're going to see much changing that this year at all but I think it's something that the sector needs to start thinking about because we need a range of budgets not just one product for one part of the sector. Yeah I think my thoughts are pretty similar although if I take what we heard um at UK Reef in 2025 there was starting to be some indication that BTR developments are kind of losing some of their heavy immunitized sites and their it's like they're you know they're learning I guess as as any new sector does about what's working what's not working what the customer is looking for. And if some of those kind of very highly immunitized sites are are kind of looking at efficiencies maybe in turn that will see the prices sort of come down or kind of I don't know more BTR light type developments I hate that phrase by the way but those kind of you know I guess efficient accommodation that is just purely managed rental living without all of the bells and whistles. So I think on the basis that we heard about it in 2025 I think we will start to see some of those developments come through in 2026. I mean and I I've written notes on this based on one of our other sections on this podcast but I'll I'll talk about it now from a marketing point of view. Like Deanny said everybody can live in BTR so it's only because it's been marketed to one type of renter which is really that kind of young professional earning quite a lot of money kind of sector but actually you know families can live in it older people can live in it students can live in it and you know we know that they've not necessarily been marketed to but they found it anyway. So there is a market for a more diverse tenant and I'd like to see the marketing kind of vary on that really BTR hasn't needed to try very hard with marketing you know they've chosen really great locations where there's a need for housing. So kind of previously that hasn't actually been been worth talking about but maybe maybe it will get tougher if those prices keep going up it's going to be tougher to fill you know to fill those those beds and I think you know we are seeing a lot of development stalling you know there there's there's not as many coming through as there have been in previous years. Is this deliberate you know that actually you know developers are seeing a bit of a a kind of you know downturn I guess in renting at those levels and they're holding off you know or is it a problem with planning? I don't I don't know what the answer is to that. But hopefully BTR will continue to thrive and we will see more of those developments coming through with a bit more focus on segmentation of who it's for it can't be for everybody anymore. You know needs it needs to be a bit more purposeful in the local market in the target audience etc.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah I completely agree I think um I think the students being in BTR has always been seen as a dirty little secret and and it shouldn't be they're choosing BTR for good reason because it is offering flexibility and in a lot of cases affordability for the space that you get you know would you prefer a box room or would you prefer a one bed apart? I think this is where you know the difference between PBSA and and BTR is born out and PBSA it used to be that well hey why would you live anywhere else when PBSA is so focused on student and that pastoral care and support and and actually what we've found is that there are some students that actually don't necessarily want that. They want to be living with young professionals. They want to be almost treated like grown ups I I don't mean that uh condescendingly to PBSA but I think there is a real focus on really getting that life experience and that's where BTR can certainly come in. So I think that hopefully wraps it up reasonably for BTR we'll see you know uh some some real focus I think there on flexibility and clearer segmentation of those target renters and I think this is probably the year where you're not going to see a huge number of new planning uh applications or new buildings delivered within BTR at the moment it is still going to be fairly steady I think but you know we are going to see more growing scrutiny uh scrutiny around affordability and that's something that BTR needs to be kind of mindful of so you know no major strides I don't expect but it will just be slow and steady uh for for BTR for what I see so far. Uh now let's hear from our sponsor Washstation. Washstation proudly sponsor this episode of Housed we provide best in class laundry solutions that complement your buildings Washstation smart green clean washstation is a leader in managed laundry services it uses smart technology to deliver reliable efficient laundry solutions that always put the customers first. With a strong commitment to sustainability and ESG they help businesses reduce environmental impact without compromising on cleanliness or performance. From intelligent systems to thoughtful services Washstation is redefining what communal laundry can be so if you've got any upcoming projects or your current contract with your legacy providers are coming to an end please get in contact with John and the team to discuss your requirements. So now on to co-living now co-living for me always feels like it's about to have its moment and I do again I don't in similar way to BTR I don't think we're gonna see this massive explosion but I think it's now shedding the reputation of you know of the past so I don't think we're going to see a big explosion in co-living in this in the same way that um I don't think we're going to see you know huge numbers of of BTR popping up left right and centre. I think that it has shed the experience of the collective shall we say where it was probably a bit more of a focus on tech a little bit like we work you know a bit of a tech valuation rather than a bricks and mortar real estate valuation and I think that that the whole the collective imploding wasn't good for the sector but it did really sort of get the word out there about co-living and and all the things that could be offered. Now I think that that is where these new players that are coming into co-living and there are numerous of them I can't list them all but I think they've got a serious opportunity because investors are starting to realise that yes there is opportunity in in co-living it's not just about being PBSA by the back door it's very much you know trying to set up an industry and a sector in its own right but I do think this will again be a bit of a quiet revolution I suppose within co-living this year with you know a few more buildings popping up some more operators as well but we have to just make sure that we're offering what uh what those residents want whether they're young professionals young families or you know people commuting into work or needing an extra needing an extra night stay here and there that mix of short stay and that long term community that's absolutely pivotal for co-living to get right so Deany what do you think is in store for the co-living sector?

SPEAKER_03:

I think co-living has a place to deliver what the sector needs. Whether it's going to grasp that and there's going to be a lot of growth this year I don't know um what I really want to see is the sector really starting to think about its product its branding who it's providing for and because I think it has a real role in solving the housing crisis that we have in this country I've said this before and I'll continue to say it co-living in its European form is something that delivers delivers something dynamic and purposeful and I'd love to see more of that happening in the UK and I still don't think we have that in its current form in the UK and this is what we were talking about at UK Reef when we went to co-living workshops there is that it's studios single studios for single people and I think it's the wrong product for co-living to be in its entirety and I'm hoping that we start to see change in the sector and start to to again see a a change in product diversity from just studios that is co-living. Yeah I think I mean I I yeah I I agree with that I think based on the fact we are where we are with co-living and what it is I can't differentiate it to P to BTR I don't really know why it's got a different a different planning structure to it because it's just managed apartments and they happen to be studios instead of one two or three bed apartments but it's effectively the same thing and it doesn't have to be the same thing but I don't necessarily think that's going to change in 2026. There are going through planning there are some developments that might complete in 2026 but they might fall into 2027 and I guess unlike PBSA there's not an urgency for completions. We do think the government would be pushing for completion so developers can move on to the next project and create more homes for people but I think unless there's significant demand for that kind of product at that kind of price in those locations yeah those developments that are due to complete in 2026 may well slip into 2027. I think it should and could attract a wider demographic than just graduates and young single people but with the product being what it is and many of which are single occupancy that is very you know very hard to do really so I'd say my prediction of co-living is going to be we will hopefully see a wider demographic of renters living in co-living that that would require a change in marketing and and a change in product as well.

SPEAKER_05:

I agree. I think it does have an identity crisis still uh we will move on in a second but it is studio-led BTR uh Jenna Harris put a poll out a while back saying what should we call co-living it is studio led BTR but that's not sexy enough. That's not sexy enough for the people that are in co-living to then be saying hey we've got something different it's unique let's go and sell this to investors and then to young professionals etc but it is the next step on from PBSA. I think that's the really interesting thing that you know co-living does have a big opportunity but how as you know how do you then work together and collaborate to to make sure that the word is out there very much about co-living so I do think there's more to come from co-living this year but it it won't it will be steady sort of selective growth rather than you know this this big explosion. Hopefully they they focus very much on that you know clarity of purpose and not and not the branding.

SPEAKER_02:

Now let's hear from Howden Howden is the fifth largest employee owned business in the UK and one of the largest insurance groups globally. With over 60 years experience Howden's specialist education division delivers tailored insurance risk management and wellbeing solutions for the education sector.

SPEAKER_06:

They're the trusted partner of nearly a thousand schools, colleges, universities and student accommodation providers across the UK.

SPEAKER_04:

Howden helps owners and operators protect what matters most and so they are the perfect sponsors for HAWS. Thank you for coming on board for season six.

SPEAKER_05:

So Howden Insurance are headline sponsors of the British and Irish Lions so if there are any tickets going spare do feel free to reach out to us but really good to have them on board. For any insurance needs that you have do reach out to Howden that is anything from a contents perspective right the way through the full insurance spectrum very grateful to be working with them. So now on to university owned accommodation this one does feel quite fragile but I think there's a massive opportunity here and especially following the LinkedIn post that I put out over the weekend that I've already talked about the biggest responses that I got from that was from university halls, the heads of accommodation for various different universities, large and small and I got about a dozen responses from people saying we're already trying this we're having to try things because we want to offer what the students need. It wasn't about because we need to get to full occupancy and hit our revenue targets. I know that is clearly something that they all need to focus on but it was about we need to be able to offer what the students want and that is where I think there is such a huge opportunity for university halls to yes deal with some quite sort of crippling occupancy challenges as they already have but then also start to really showcase what innovation looks like within the sector that is across tech and systems that is across structure and people and what it takes to actually run a property and look at the short term and the you know potentially looking at it longer uh longer tenancy lengths as well there's so much opportunity that they have I think so I'm I'm quite excited for what we're going to see from the university sector that will then bleed into PBSA as PBSA keeps getting m more and more mature and I think the occupancy challenges will continue. I think that we're going to have to learn a lot more from from University Hall. So it's gonna be a really interesting one. What do you think Deanny?

SPEAKER_03:

I think well start the university start to look more closely at accommodation when they've got occupancy issues they're probably been ignoring it for a number of years where it's just filled and it's done its thing whereas when it's not people are going to start looking at and seeing how they can fix it. So I think and I think as we said earlier when we talked about PBSA I think universities are in a far better position to provide a product that students need and want without always thinking about the revenue side of it. So I think we're likely to see more innovation coming from universities and more testing and trying. That said we all know universities are struggling financially so I think they are going to have to also look at outsourcing as part of that innovation but I think some of those deals are going to be quite difficult in the market we're in to make it kind of make it work for everyone in that space. I do predict more outsourcing partnerships and rationalization universities just don't have the capital or risk appetite on a whole that they once did we know that there's more aging assets as well and without that kind of cash injection you know that accommodation could you know compete badly you know historically while students may get placed in university accommodation when they've lived there their satisfaction's not always there if they're living in an aging you know property basically so there would be an opportunity for universities to kind of outsource that you know to PBSA providers but those agreements have got to be beneficial for both parties and as Deany was alluding to there I think that's going to be really really tricky you know and and that's why those partnerships kind of there there's been less of them the last few years because financially they've not worked for both parties but something's got to give.

SPEAKER_05:

I had a good chat with arguably the nicest person in PBSA the other day. I'll let everybody work out who that is but they're very much in the uh in the DBFO design build fund operate sector work very closely with universities and I I I have definitely come across as a sort of anti-partnerships and I am really conscious that they can be so beneficial for universities who need the extra supply who need the professionalism of you know not having having everything taken away from them universities need to focus on educating students and a a really good partner for these public-private partnerships will they will definitely help them to focus on what they're good at. And you know these partnerships can work incredibly well I and you know we at Resi Consultancy are drafted in when they don't I think that's one of the key issues that I have is that I've seen how they can work against a university and I think you know there are some very obvious examples some of which I can't actually really talk about but where a university has ended ended up then being undersold by a private provider that they then that they work with. And I think there is a lot to be said for making sure that these partnerships are are are right and though it's the contracts in particular making sure there's flexibility on the rent. You don't want to be having your rent held too high by a private provider because it will totally affect the number of students that you can actually take on board into your university. That is already bearing out in various different locations and I think that's where the contracts just need really careful negotiation. That's obvious but I think that universities need to be very aligned with their private providers to ensure that the cap and collar in terms of the you know the amount that you can increase the rents year on year is realistic and it's not going to mean that the university accommodation ends up a lot more expensive than PBSA does or that they're slower to adapt. So overall I I think there's a massive opportunity in the private sector worked working with the universities as long as it as you said Sarah is mutually beneficial and that you've got a real clear contract. Same with nominations agreements I don't think they need to be 15-20 years anymore. So if you're about to sign one of those I would have a real think about why you're doing that because there are plenty of universities out there paying a lot of money to PBSA providers and I know this doesn't make me any friends in some of the bigger providers whereby they're signing these massive nominations agreements but universities really need to think twice because PBSA providers as I said at my Kubo keynote they would snap your hand off for pretty much anything at the moment in terms of those agreements so just make sure that you do uh really focus on on negotiating quite hard there. Again, you know not teaching the university sector to suck eggs but that's just really giving a bit of a perspective on how important it is for PBSA to have these offerings right now. A lot of whenever people call me about London developers call me about London they're typically just asking if I can get them a nominations agreement or any other location as well. And and that really sort of sets it up the fact that planners are looking for it but also that the the PBSA investors are also looking for it. It's really reassuring so yeah I think there are opportunities for university halls they can be super flexible they are less less beholden to the investors unless they're in a public-private partnerships those should be explored there are some brilliant operators of the DBFO models out there and there are some brilliant management operators out there that would definitely help a university to to focus on what they're good at. So I think there's a real opportunity here for university halls. I would say don't sell the engine to buy petrol really consider what your accommodation strategy looks like. Really pleased that there's more universities reaching out than ever to discuss that. So yeah lots going on in 2026 for universities but you know we'll also see what happens with the merger that we've already seen with Kent and Greenwich and what that looks like from an application standpoint long term. And then whether that means that you know more groups pop up and more universities consolidate and then does that rationalise the need for their own accommodation when there's so much PPSA in a city who knows so it's going to be an interesting one to see but that financial pressure is definitely shaping the housing strategy as well. And then lastly we come on to rented later living uh saving the best till last now this sector I think has the biggest long-term opportunity but there are some serious short-term barriers. I think this is about changing hearts and minds for the long term and showing people that they can downsize and how easy that may well be to do and that rented later living is a definite opportunity for them. So you know Sarah and Deany I know you guys are are very very focused on this sector. So Sarah and Deany I know having had on a barrett from Birchgrove on the podcast a while back now gosh that was you know right back near the start that was a real eye opener for me but you guys were already aware of the potential in the sector. So so Deanny yeah what what are your thoughts on rented later living in 2026?

SPEAKER_03:

I think it's a great sector I think Dan as you say I think it has its role to play in freeing up those family homes for families. My prediction is I don't think we're gonna see that much go for incremental growth in later living this year because like you said Dan I think it does need to win hearts and minds and I think unfortunately it probably needs some government input or support to help sway people to move out and I think the government have got too many other things that they're trying to fix and solve right now that I don't think is going to be in their attention. So my prediction is always I think it absolutely has its place we absolutely need to see growth in this area but I think any growth we see is probably going to be incremental and not what we need to really push the balance in the right direction. Yeah I think there needs to be more messaging about rented later living I still think the the rented later living for for purchasing is getting you know all all of I guess all of the attention because it's what's known you know when people start thinking about moving they're thinking about well I've got to sell my house and then I'm gonna have to buy one and the fees that are associated with that and everything. So I think there's a whole PR need for it but there just isn't really the evidence there for it. At the moment just like in PBSA and BTR rented later living is at the high end at the moment it's the chandeliers it's the swimming pools it's the you know private members club type product and that's great because it gets people's attention and it gets investment into the sector but we need that to kind of dilute down um into you know the mainstream rented later living that everybody can live in and then it will really really start to to change the sector and to create a solution for for you know the housing shortage but as I said before single family housing which we haven't really talked about because it is part of BTR well it is for later living it's for everyone it's for students it's for families it's for everyone so everybody can live in professionally managed rented houses but it's not again it's not being marketed as such. Obviously single family housing is a stupid terminology but it's a sector led one nobody's actually marketing that but whenever I see like rented community marketing it is always targeted at families and yes families need somewhere to live but older people need somewhere to live as well but I did see a planning application local to me that had retirement bungalows on a mixed tenure development so I think that's probably where I will stick for my predictions for 2026 is it's small small incremental changes in the rented later living sector in 2026 but I hope that for 2027 it builds more momentum and you know can be a mass market really.

SPEAKER_05:

Oh I I look I I agree with you I think it's going to be um marginal gains but I think it's I think uh rented later living is where PBSA was 20 years ago. So the likes of the United's and the opals uh of the world uh who are building fairly mid-range uh you know stock I think there is going to be some serious maturity you know within the next 10 years within uh rented later living I think yes it's the chandeliers and it's the you know the the the swimming pools and the members' clubs at the moment but as the concept grows and people start to realise that they can do this then that's where I think you'll start to see a lot more mid-range players more affordable players and not you know not just the chandeliers and members' clubs and swimming pools and I think that's where the government needs to step in and I think there almost needs to be some kind of PR campaign to talk about well to entice older people out of their homes to sell them up to move into rented later living as an opportunity. We're not going to see that from within because you know just Birchgrove on their own or any of the other rented later living operators and investors they're not able to do that just themselves. Even with someone as charismatic and lovely as as honour I think that's where the government does need to step in to change those hearts and minds for the long term. So yes marginal gains but massive opportunity there really is because again the government are not doing and we haven't really covered the government too much on here but they're not doing enough to talk about the rented sector at all and I think that's where we really need to be focusing on bringing those into the targets. Stop just talking about the 1.5 million homes and you know doing deals with house builders like we have to be embracing BTR PBSA co-living later living and all the sectors that are housing people whether they're students or whether they're the elderly so yes I think I'd love to see more from the government I don't think we will at all because they are still scrabbling around I think 26 was supposed to be the year of renewal I can't see it happening. Anyway I think it's time to wrap up now we are well over our usual time limit but um if there's one thread running through all of this it's it's choice flexibility and realism I've copped a lot of flack from agents by criticising some of the brochures that we've seen in the past selling the dream and not actually delivering we're starting to see that bear fruit now. There are some investors questioning their returns and what they've originally been sold and I think there isn't and that is across multiple sectors I think that we really need to make sure that we have positive realism. So we're looking at the challenges and the headwinds but we're also thinking about the tailwinds as well and how to leverage those to really deliver better opportunities. So the sectors that really succeed they'll be the ones that listen the best to the residents whether they're students or general renters families elderly and the ones that fail they'll be the ones that assume that yesterday's model will still work tomorrow that's been you know seen in 2025. As always we'd love to hear whether you agree or disagree do join in the conversation on LinkedIn and um we'll revisit these predictions at the end of the year just as we did last week to see how brave or foolish we were Deany Sarah and I we're off to Leeds when the episode is launched we're looking at our UK Reef venue meeting the team there and planning our agenda for the House the Shared Living Summit. So if you haven't already secured your partnership package and you do want to get involved then get in touch. There is still time we're pulling together the agenda in time for the end of January so that that can be launched so do get in touch. Thank you very much as ever to my student halls for being our headline sponsor for this season once again your support is hugely appreciated and of course thank you to Utopia and Wash Station for coming on board for season six and of course our newest sponsor Howden Insurance thank you very much as ever if you've got any hot topics or ideas of what you want us to cover in season six from PBSA, BTR, co living, later living HMOs and university accommodation sectors do get in touch at hello at housepodcast.com and we will see you next week