Student landlords need to keep a close eye on university admissions in their area following news that university applications for 2013 have dropped by 6% with less than a month to go before the deadline for this autumns entry.

Recent data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) showed there were 265,784 university applications by UK-based candidates up to 17 December, down by 6.3% compared to the same period last year.

This is the second successive year that student applications for university places have fallen, following an 8.7% drop in the total number of applicants for all courses in 2012.
The slump is being blamed on rising tuition fees, with some universities now charging as much as£9,000 fees for some courses.

For a long time the student sector has been seen as the most resilient for buy to let landlords, with strong levels of demand, full occupancy levels and good prospects for rental growth.

However Graham Kinnear, Managing Director at Landlord Assist is concerned that a general tendency towards fewer student numbers will start to affect tenant demand in some student towns.

He says: "A continuing trend of reduced student numbers is worrying news for student
landlords in university towns who, over the years, have been able to anticipate full
occupancy levels for the academic year. If university applications continue to drop at the current rate this could ultimately lead to some landlords having empty properties on their hands or having to cope with falling rents in the coming years."