Revealed: The UK’s Most In-demand Student Cities for 2026-27
We've analysed three years of student searches to identify the UK's most in-demand cities for student accommodation - and how you can secure a great place to live.
04 June 2026 • 13 min read
Liverpool is the UK’s most competitive city for student housing in 2026-27, a study by UniHomes has found.
We've analysed three years of student search behaviour on our website, alongside Google search volumes, to calculate demand per available student property and forecast the top 20 most in-demand cities for the current letting cycle which sees students search for accommodation for September 2026-July 2027.
While overall UK demand has surged over the past decade, we found Liverpool students face the most competition for private accommodation, with Bath, London, Coventry and Derby close behind as the cities predicted to have the highest student demand.
As part of our mission to make student living stress-free, we're sharing these findings as the first in a series of insights into the UK student accommodation market to help students feel prepared and informed, before and during their university journey.
The rankings: Top 20 cities by demand
The national picture - how is UK student accommodation demand changing?
The last decade has seen dramatic changes for the UK’s student population - and with it, demand for student accommodation.
According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the UK’s student population has increased by a whopping 28% since 2015, with full-time international students growing by 81% in that time.
Alongside this significant growth in numbers, the proportion of UK students renting from private landlords or private halls has held steady at 49% for the past two years in Save The Student’s annual National Student Accommodation Survey, while the proportion living with parents has dropped from 15% to 13%, resulting in more students requiring private accommodation.
Combined, these two factors have heightened competition for student housing, and although many cities have seen large-scale investment in purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), at a national level supply has not kept pace with demand. In 2024, stark analysis by real estate and investment giants CBRE estimated a UK shortfall of around 600,000 student bed spaces.
“We know trying to search for next year’s student home alongside uni deadlines and exams is stressful for students, and we want to alleviate that stress as much as possible,” says UniHomes CEO Phil Greaves.
“Being informed about the local student market in their city will help students in the most competitive areas understand the benefits of acting early to secure the best accommodation, and hopefully provide reassurance if they’ve found it difficult to secure accommodation that there are localised reasons why.
“While these are our predictions for 2026-27 based off the previous three years, the Renters’ Rights Act, which came into effect in May, could sway things. What’s important to remember though, is that the student accommodation market is unique in that it’s shaped by the academic calendar and high demand at specific points in the year.
"While this new legislation will see tenancy processes evolve, students will still need accommodation and letting agents will continue to be vital in meeting that. What matters is clarity, communication and making it stress-free for students to understand their options and secure a home, while helping agents rent their properties confidently and compliantly."
The cities on top
Liverpool
Local market analysis
With its student population growing by a staggering 28% over the past decade, Liverpool is now a hugely popular place to study. The city’s affordability and global reputation is proving an increasingly effective pull with international students, and its proportion of students needing private accommodation has increased in recent years.
That trend isn’t changing any time soon: student numbers are forecast to increase by another 3,000 by 2031, making Liverpool’s student accommodation market even more competitive - as reflected in UniHomes’ forecast which sees searches per property more than doubling by 2030.
Investments made by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores have likely fuelled this growth, with both universities currently investing in upgrading their campus facilities, while UoL has significantly expanded its range of postgrad programmes, increasing its appeal to mature students.
Liverpool students are a sociable bunch. In the 2026-27 letting season so far, searches for 6-bed student accommodation in Liverpool on UniHomes’ platform have increased by 47% year-on-year, becoming the most popular house size, with 4 and 5-beds the next most popular. However, demand for 1-beds has also risen 23%, showing the growth in demand at both ends of the market.
Although demand for city centre accommodation has fallen by 35% year-on-year, Edge Hill is becoming an increasingly popular student district, with searches on UniHomes growing 15% - suggesting students are choosing to move out into the suburbs. Perhaps driven by an awareness that competition is fierce, Liverpool students started house-hunting earlier this year, with searches on UniHomes peaking on 12th November, a week earlier than the previous season.
What Liverpool students say
“Honestly, I’m not surprised that Liverpool comes out on top - it truly is a student city through and through,” says Libby Adeler, a fifth-year Physics student at the University of Liverpool and UniHomes Student Ambassador.
“It has the perfect mix of a big-city feel and that famous Liverpool friendliness that makes you feel at home, so I’m not shocked everyone wants to live here - it just has a vibe that’s hard to find anywhere else.
“Every year it definitely feels like a bit of a race to find the best places. Everyone starts thinking about house-hunting early on, although Liverpool has so many student areas that there are still options out there later on.”
“The best part about student life in Liverpool is how compact it is; everything is so close together - having the docks, nightlife and culture right on your doorstep makes it so easy to get out and experience the city.”
Recent Liverpool John Moores Drama graduate and fellow UniHomes Student Ambassador Robyn Kirk agrees: “It doesn’t surprise me that there’s such high demand because of the range of universities but also the culture. It does feel like demand is increasing at the moment because it’s such a popular city.”
Bath
Local market analysis
The historic Somerset city has seen significant growth in student numbers, with the University of Bath’s student population swelling by over 3,000 (+18%) between 2018-2024.
However, competition for student accommodation is exacerbated by Bath’s housing shortage (not just for students but generally) caused by restrictions on building new accommodation due to the city’s UNESCO World Heritage status and Green Belt protection.
As the local council notes, Bath’s situation is especially severe because it’s a small city with two universities, and growth in Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) availability hasn’t kept pace with growth in student numbers, resulting in more competition for properties each year. In that context, it’s no surprise to see Bath near the top of UniHomes’ list for 2026-27 - and forecast to see demand double again by 2030.
Bath students continue to prefer central accommodation, with Oldfield Park, the city centre and Twerton remaining the most popular areas to search for housing on UniHomes. Among University of Bath students, there has been less appetite for accommodation in Camden to the east of the city, while to the west, Southdown has risen in popularity with Bath Spa University students.
4 and 5-beds remain the most popular house sizes among Bath students, while 3-beds now make up a greater proportion of all searches on UniHomes, overtaking 6-beds.
What Bath students say
“I’m not surprised at all that Bath is one of the top cities for student accommodation demand,” says Emily Bowden, a UniHomes Student Ambassador and current third-year Bath Spa University fashion student. “It’s a lovely city that’s beautiful all year round and its location close to London and Bristol is perfect.
“Having two unis here makes demand really high, and both offer something different which means they’re both popular - Bath Spa is a great creative uni and the Uni of Bath is known for its sports and facilities.”
Fourth-year Bath Uni chemistry student and fellow UniHomes Student Ambassador Amber Patel agrees: “It’s incredibly difficult to get a student house in Bath now - the amount of students competing for each house is huge, and student numbers are increasing too.”
The chasing pack: London, Coventry and Derby
London’s pull for students - and especially international students - is no secret, but the capital’s already huge student population also grew by 15% between 2017-2022; an extra 56,000+ students. There’s been a trend in recent years of regional universities opening campuses in London, with over a dozen now operating a London satellite presence, further drawing students to the Big Smoke.
At the same time, the number of HMOs in London has fallen by over 40,000 due to stricter licensing rules, dropping by 23% from 2018-2024. That said, year-on-year growth in demand is slowing and UniHomes’ 2030 forecast sees it actually drop slightly by the end of the decade.
So far for 2026-27, UniHomes have seen a surge in demand for accommodation in Marylebone and Chelsea, which have surged from the 10th and 28th most popular student areas last year to 3rd and 6th respectively. Searches for 1-beds, still the most popular accommodation size among London students, have grown by another 12%, while there’s also been modest growth in 4-bed searches.
Coventry’s reputation as a student destination has blossomed in the wake of being named UK City of Culture in 2021, a project both the city’s universities were associated with.
It’s part of a pattern of long-term student population growth: Coventry University’s student body almost tripled between 2007-2022, with the University of Warwick seeing a milder but still substantial increase of 24% between 2017-2022.
The result is that the West Midlands city now has a huge student population of around 60,000 (one of the highest in the UK), but given Coventry’s small overall population of around 350,000, students make up a larger than usual proportion of all residents here, generating significant competition for dedicated student housing.
However, purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) providers have been quick to capitalise on this demand - over half of Coventry’s PBSAs have been built since 2017, so it seems likely the gap between supply and demand will start to narrow in the future, although UniHomes’ forecasts predict further growth in demand until 2030.
While Cannon Park and the city centre remain the most popular student areas, there’s been growth in demand for accommodation to the east of the city on UniHomes this year. Kenilworth, a market town 5 miles outside Coventry, has seen 67% growth in searches, catapulting it from sixth to third in the ranking of Coventry’s most popular student areas, while searches for Tile Hill within the city have risen 23%.
4- and 5-bed houses remain the most popular among Coventry students, but there’s been significant growth in 1-bed demand, with 44% more searches this year.
The intensity of competition for student housing in Derby hasn’t gone unnoticed - the East Midlands city was named one of the best places to invest in student accommodation in 2024 as demand outstrips supply, with a shortage of dedicated student housing.
As well as being home to the University of Derby, the city sees some spillover of students from nearby Nottingham as well - Derby Uni even allows Nottingham students to stay in their halls, which is especially common among Nottingham medical students. UniHomes’ forecasts show significant continued growth up to 2030, with searches per property in Derby more than tripling.
As elsewhere, Derby has seen a surge in demand for 1-bed student accommodation, with searches rising by 29% year-on-year. 1-beds are now the most popular type of accommodation among Derby students on UniHomes, when they were only fourth-highest last year.
While the city centre is still the most popular student area, Ashbourne Road, a major artery to the east of Derby, has overtaken Darley, a suburb north of the city centre, into second place for student demand.
UniHomes' tips for securing student accommodation in high-competition cities
Lian Chambers, Head of Marketing at UniHomes, comments: “Accommodation is just one of many pressures students face, but it’s often the one that, if not sorted, can cause the most stress.
“With over ten years of experience tracking student housing demand nationwide, we see first-hand how timing, preparation and local knowledge can make a difference between a smooth search and a stressful one. The three top tips we give students are:
- Don’t panic - Regardless of where you’re searching, it’s important to make sure you’re comfortable with who you’re living with before you start viewing houses, as you’ll be spending the next year with them. See our guide to choosing who to live with for more tips.
- Be informed - Knowledge is power. When you search by city on UniHomes, you’ll find city-specific tips around when properties usually go live, how popular certain areas and property types are, and when demand usually peaks, as well as general advice about when to start searching.
- Be organised - when you are ready to start house-hunting, make sure you’ve got everything prepared - including a guarantor, deposit, who you’re living with and what kind of accommodation you’re after. If not, you’ll struggle to sign for a property, making the situation stressful. We've collaborated with student letting agents to produce this guide with tips for maximising your chances of a successful enquiry.”
Footnote: Methodology explained
We analysed searches by city and bedroom size on the UniHomes website over the past three years (2023-2025), for all cities where they have had at least 50 properties advertised each of the three years.
This was then combined with average Google searches for the biggest student accommodation search terms in that city, to get an overall figure for total searches per city per year, in order to create a “searches per available property” ratio.
UniHomes then used the trend in each city from 2023-2025 to forecast what demand will be like in 2026, and ranked cities accordingly.
