Need void student accommodation cleaning? We’ve got it!
While university and further education students take their summer holidays, there’s lots of work to do to set up for next term. Whether it’s planning timetables or even getting the right students through the door in the first place, academic institutions are set for a busy period. For student accommodation providers, it’s time to turn around void properties and make them ready for reletting. Here at Fidelis, we’re experts in student accommodation contract cleaning, and we know our way around void properties. And if things go wrong with another cleaning provider, we know just the people to help you out: our sister company, REACT Specialist Cleaning. In this blog we look at our void student accommodation cleaning services across the REACT Group, whether that’s on a contract or ad hoc basis.
Where will the students live?
The huge rise in UK student numbers (to 2.2 million full-time students in 2022) has driven a change in student accommodation. In the twenty-first century, traditional flat- or house-shares have often given way to more purpose built student accommodation (PBSA). Built by private developers for students to live in, PBSA normally consists of cluster flats (multiple rooms with shared kitchen and living areas) or private studios. Some also have attached leisure facilities and communal areas. Across the UK, around 34% of full-time students lived in private PBSA in 2019-20, up from 22% in 2013-14.
Universities themselves are less able to provide accommodation. By 2020-21, the private sector owned over half of current PBSAs, due to rapid expansion of the sector to meet demand for new rooms. But student numbers are expected to increase further, with UCAS receiving a record 760,000 applications in 2022. (In our area, for instance, Birmingham continues to see strong growth in student numbers). Together with changing student demographics such as more mature learners, there is still demand for more traditional student accommodation such as house shares provided by private landlords.
Students want to stay clean and study
We’ve talked before in our blog about the surveys on student accommodation from Knight Frank in conjunction with UCAS. The fourth such survey, for the academic year 2022-23, collates responses from over 20,000 students . Understandably, overall cost and value for money come in as the top factors prompting decisions about where to live. But for first-year students, 98% said that the cleanliness of the bedroom was an ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important influence in their decision-making.
Crucially for PBSA providers, cleanliness is a way to retain tenants throughout their university career. The survey showed that improving the condition of their room motivated 92% of second or more year students to switch from a house share in the private rented sector into PBSA. And nearly 90% of those who had been in PBSA for their first year cited overall cleanliness as a reason for moving back into PBSA rather than choosing to rent elsewhere.
Planning for void student accommodation cleaning
It’s a clear picture that for PBSA providers and private landlords alike, it’s vital to get cleaning right. Yet as well as allowing them to get the tenants they need, cleaning is of course vital to maintain the value of their investment. Void periods are one of the best times to clean thoroughly, as well as carrying out any refurbishment work.
Unusually for residential property, there’s a certainty to when student property is going to be void. For most accommodation providers, they’re guaranteed that there will be a period during the summer when property is vacant between university terms. Of course, in some cases there are summer courses or conferences, or other short-term ad hoc use for their student accommodation. But in most cases, summer voids are a fact of life that they can plan for accordingly.
There are other ways in which student property is unlike other cleaning assignments. For most of our private residential void cleaning, we would spend time dealing with the results of hoarding, outside clearance of overgrown gardens, or vermin management. These problems arise less often in the world of student accommodation.
Delivering the student accommodation cleaning that’s needed
Here at Fidelis, we have contracts with several student accommodation providers. We provide a full-service property cleaning, decontamination, and clearance service. Our fully vetted and trained specialist cleaning staff know what they need to do. It’s often a two-stage process. First, it’s a question of managing the void itself, with internal void clearances of any rubbish and recycling that is left behind. Then once our client has finished any refurbishment works that they need to complete, we’ll do a final clean of the property. We’ll get final sign-off, so clients are perfectly placed to relet the property to next year’s student intake.
What’s more, within the REACT Group of companies, we have the capacity to help out when things go wrong with student accommodation cleaning. There may be circumstances where landlords and property managers need end-of-tenancy student accommodation cleaning in a hurry. If their contracted cleaners let them down, or if there’s been a mistake in scheduling cleaning and refurb works, REACT Specialist Cleaning is on hand to help. They can guarantee fast turnaround times if you need student end of tenancy cleaning in a hurry.
Find the full Knight Frank/ UCAS study here.
To find out more about Fidelis Group and our window cleaning and cladding cleaning services, contact one of the team today.
- Telephone: 0845 431 0382 | 0121 289 3258
- Email: info@fidelisgroup.co.uk
- Website: www.fidelisgroup.co.uk
Post by Chris Ryan
Chris is Commercial Manager at Fidelis Group, a business which stays true to providing cleaning and related property services to the commercial and industrial sector. Having joined Fidelis in March 2022, Chris has a strong management background in FM and cleaning services. He works to help Fidelis become a partner of choice within the commercial and industrial cleaning sector.
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