We’ll save the day if you’ve been let down by another cleaning company or you’ve left your void student accommodation cleaning to the last minute
It’s that time of year that many of us long for: the extended summer break for university and further education students. While nobody wants to wish their time away, student accommodation providers need to be looking to next term. So the summer holiday is also the time to get their houses in order, to turn around void properties and make them ready for reletting. But it can be difficult to work to the summer holiday timetable. After all, the best-laid plans of facilities managers and landlords can go awry. In this blog, we look at how REACT can deliver the best in void student accommodation cleaning services in a hurry.
Stay clean and study
Student accommodation in the twenty-first century is, of course, vastly different from the traditional flat- or house-shares that students used to put up with. The massive increase in student numbers (to 2.2 million full-time students in 2022) has partly driven this change. Purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) is built by private developers for students to live in. It usually consists of cluster flats (multiple rooms with shared kitchen and living areas), or private studios. Many have attached leisure facilities and communal areas.
Across the UK further education sector, around 34% of full-time students lived in private PBSA in 2019-20, up from 22% in 2013-14. 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 the rise in student numbers is expected to increase, with UCAS receiving a record 760,000 applications in 2022. 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 too.
The bigger picture on purpose built student accommodation
In successive years, Knight Frank has published a series of surveys on student accommodation 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. The full Knight Frank/ UCAS study can be found here: >> Student Accommodation Survey 2023
When things don’t go to plan for facilities managers and landlords
So for PBSA providers and private landlords alike, it’s vital to get cleaning right. After all, it’s one critical way that accommodation providers can get the tenants they need. But naturally, cleaning is also vital to maintain the value of their investment. And 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.
Even so, there may be circumstances where landlords and property managers need end-of-tenancy student accommodation cleaning in a hurry. If your contracted cleaners let them down, or if there’s been a mistake in scheduling cleaning and refurb works, REACT is on hand to help. We can guarantee fast turnaround times if you need student end of tenancy cleaning in a hurry. We can act as your emergency cleaner.
How we deliver void student accommodation cleaning that’s needed
Student property is often unlike other cleaning assignments in other ways too. For other types of 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.
Still, 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 you’ve finished any refurbishment works that they need to complete, we’ll do a final clean before the property. We’ll get your final sign-off– and you’ll be perfectly placed to relet the property to next year’s student intake.
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To find out more about REACT Specialist Cleaning and our services for end of tenancy void student accommodation cleaning, contact one of the team today.
Email: info@reactplc.co.uk
Website: www.reactsc.co.uk
Post by Sam Haywood
Sam is Group Sales Director of REACT Group plc., a business dedicated to specialist cleaning going beyond the everyday. His focus is on delivering clients with excellent service whatever their cleaning challenges. Sam has a background working in facilities services and facilities management across hard, soft, and M&E services for national accounts and clients.