Manchester University are offering incoming students £2,500 to live off-campus after revealing they are 'just over' 350 rooms short in halls to meet demand - despite offering freshers an 'accommodation guarantee'.
University bosses say they have secured extra accommodation in Preston and Liverpool as a 'contingency', but hope enough students who live in commuting distance to campus will take up the offer.
It comes after Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) offered students £100 a week to take up accommodation in Liverpool and Huddersfield due to similar concerns.
In a message on their StaffNet forum, UoM cite 'exceptional circumstances' around the pandemic for an 'unprecedented' increase in demand for halls.
"We have admitted more students over the last three years, linked in particular to the exceptional circumstances around A Level results during the pandemic and the increase in students achieving the highest marks. This has created a knock-on impact into our own student accommodation, which is oversubscribed this year," the message reads.
"In planning for this year our accommodation team, who are incredibly experienced, had already leased additional rooms in Manchester and factored in the potential for some over recruitment. However, the unplanned growth in student numbers across the institutions in the city has led to an unprecedented increase in demand for, and acceptances, in our own accommodation (over 1,000 acceptances up on last year, the majority of which the team has so far been able to accommodate)."
The University say the rooms in Preston and Liverpool have been booked as a 'contingency,' but they hope the £2,500 offer will 'free up' enough rooms needed in University accommodation to avoid any need to use them. Students who are offered places in Liverpool and Preston will be offered an extra £100 a week to help with 'additional costs'.
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"To put this into some context before Confirmation and Clearing last year there were 4,000 unlet Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) rooms in the city," the StaffNet message reads.
"At the same point this year, there were only 400. The demand for student accommodation is outstripping the available supply."
Similar issues have been reported in other student cities, including Bristol and Glasgow.
A university spokesman said: "Owing to significant pressure on the private rental market in Manchester, there has been unprecedented demand on our University Halls this year. The increased competition across the region is due to a higher intake each year for the past three years and a rise in A-Level pass rates during the pandemic, meaning the number of students seeking accommodation across the city is at its highest ever level. We have been preparing by leasing additional rooms and are looking into all options of accommodation availability.
"We are doing everything in our control to find students places, but it is likely that some will not be able to secure their first choice, type, or location of accommodation. To help free up space, we have offered students the option to cancel their accommodation in return for a payment of £2,500. This may be of interest to students whose primary address is within commuting distance to campus and will help release rooms for other students who need accommodation."
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