A Student First Group research report | April 2026 | Page 5 More than 60% of university ‑ owned accommodation falls below expectations £17.3bn needed to upgrade universities’ residential estates c. 26,800 beds at higher ‑ ranking universities are of the lowest quality £25bn estimated to be locked up in universities’ freehold residential estates More than 60% of university-owned accommodation (c. 200,000 beds) falls below the standard students expect. These beds are categorised as Quality C or D, meaning major refurbishment or rebuilding will be needed. Our current estimate is that it will cost around £13.8bn (equivalent to £6,000 per full-time student) to modernise universities’ residential estates. A further £3.5bn will be needed if universities take the opportunity to increase the density of their accommodation (i.e. the number of beds). Universities in the upper half of the UK league table have c. 26,800 beds of the lowest Quality D (5.2% of their total), while the lower tariff universities have c. 9,400 beds (6.7% of their total). Universities that rank in the middle of the league tables generally have higher-quality accommodation. Universities are showing continued and growing interest in private sector partnerships to unlock funding and make use of the £25bn tied up in their residential estates. A QUICK TAKE