Living at Home

A significant, and growing, number of first-year students, twice as many in London, live at home.

• There are clearly pros and cons but one potential disadvantage is to treat university as a nine-to-five job and risk missing the whole university experience.
• Stay-at-home students are likely to make fewer friends and to feel rather detached from campus activities but there is no evidence that their academic work suffers.
• As a general rule, the new universities recruit many more local students.
• This being so, their students are twice as likely to opt for staying at home than those at the old universities.

Another feature of the current scene is 'buy to rent' – accommodation bought by parents to house the student member of the family.

• With mortgage interest rates still relatively low and the stock market still rather nervous, some parents are opting to buy a small house or flat, perhaps defraying the expense by charging rent to fellow students.
• It is important that parents understand the legal responsibilities of being a landlord, such as HMO licensing and deposit protection, and seek advice from a relevant body such as the Residential Landlords Association before they make a purchase.

Next page: Hostels and Lodgings