What Has Happened to the Student Rental Market in Brighton?

An overview of ‘What Has Happened to the Student Rental Market in Brighton?’ By Adam Coffin, Sales Manager – Market Insights

If you’re reading this, you probably already know something’s shifted. The student market in Brighton has wavered greatly this season, and you’re looking for answers. If you’ve stumbled across this another way, here’s the key point: the student rental market is slowing down, significantly.

We’ve ridden out rising interest rates, stomached Section 24, braced for the Renters Reform Bill, and adapted to Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES). Yet even the most optimistic landlords are struggling.

So why the sudden U-turn?

Student Numbers Are Falling
Brexit (still relevant), tightening visa rules, and wider global shifts have reduced overall student numbers, especially from countries where students historically spend more. Lower budgets now dominate.

Meanwhile, Sussex University’s rankings have declined: from 140th in 2016 to the 201–250 range since 2023, likely lowering first-choice applications. Fewer offers = more reliance on clearing = less certainty = slower housing demand.

PBSA Is No Longer a Separate Market
Brighton’s PBSA (Purpose Built Student Accommodation) scene has exploded- Lewes Road, London Road, Varley Park. These studio-heavy blocks used to house just first-years. Now, facing falling numbers, they’re chasing second and third years too.

Prices have dropped, closing the once-wide gap between PBSA and HMO rents. What used to be separate markets are now overlapping- hello, Venn diagram.

Big HMOs vs Small Groups
Thanks to Article 4 restrictions, landlords can’t easily create new HMOs, so they’re scaling up existing ones. Larger houses are common now.

But student friendship groups? They’re getting smaller. Think solo living, more screen time, fewer shared meals. Many first-years are now in studio flats, not shared halls so fewer ready-made house groups.

Result: 3–4 bed HMOs fly off the shelf. 5–6 bed homes? Tricky to let.

Snowball Effect
The season started slow, meaning more available stock- so students feel less urgency. With options still available, why rush? Some are now timing the market, waiting for prices to fall and they are.

Landlords are adapting. Coapt, for example, has found success by:

Letting large houses room-by-room

Marketing 6-beds as 5 + games room

Pitching 5-beds as 4 + office space

It works, but now these larger HMOs are competing directly with smaller ones. More market compression.

Is There Hope?
Yes. Clearing will bring a late flurry of activity. Parents will start nudging students into gear. The rental market isn’t a car crash, it’s just unfamiliar territory after years of growth.

Longer term, we’re already seeing:

Landlords selling up (especially smaller HMOs, which appeal to families)

Joint tenancies shifting to individual lets, especially post-Renters Reform

Shrinking supply with no new HMOs being built

As the pool of student HMOs dries up, supply vs demand will rebalance and likely push rents and values back up.

So What Should Landlords Do?
If the numbers no longer work- sell.
If you can weather the storm- buy.

Capital values are down. There are deals to be had. It might be bumpy for now, but long term? We’ll be hugging and dancing again.

(And yes, I’m aware I might be a little biased.)

Read Full Insights Here

Adam Coffin, MSci, MNAEA, MARLA
Sales Manager, Coapt