STUDENTS are putting down deposits on flats up to nine months before they move in because of the shortage of accommodation to rent in the Capital.
Experts say the trend was sparked by legislation introduced in 2005, which has led to many Edinburgh landlords selling-up rather than spend money on meeting new regulations.
Colette Murphy, of property management company Braemore, which manages mo
re than 800 properties in Edinburgh, said there was now a shortage of traditional four and five-bedroom student flats in the city.
She said: "It is incredible to think students now have to plan up to nine months ahead to secure their desired accommodation.
"The demand for four and five-bedroom properties has always been fierce, but the rush is now getting earlier and earlier each year.
"And the demand is showing no signs of abating as we are getting several calls every day from students looking to see what is available.
"In some cases they are literally queuing to arrange a viewing and then rushing back to secure the property and put down sizeable deposits."
Third year Edinburgh University student Rosie Spendlo was one of a group who put down a deposit earlier this year for a New Town flat, which she is set to move into with four friends in September. The students live in a flat in Dublin Street but were keen to secure a new property for their final year and put down a £1500 deposit as soon as they found a new flat on Nelson Street.
The 21-year-old, who moved from London to study fine art in the city, said: "As soon as we started our third year we knew there wasn't time to get too complacent in our current flat as we had decided to find a new place.
"The New Town is where we wanted to stay and properties are notoriously hard to come by in this area. It was a bit odd to be house-hunting for a place we won't move into for months but in order to get the property we wanted we knew we had to act quickly."
The Unite group, one of the UK's biggest providers of private student accommodation, recently had its bid to create new student flats on Chalmers Street put on ice by the city council.
The company, which intends to build 81 flats on the existing NCP car park, was told officials needed more time to review minor alterations to the scheme, which were prompted following objections from local residents.
Unite had previously had a bid for a £22 million student flat scheme on McDonald Road thrown out by the council.
Tabitha Aldrich-Smith, spokeswoman for Unite, said: "Student numbers in Edinburgh are increasing by 3.5 per cent year on year and there is high demand. There is a clear demand for modern, 21st century living for students in Edinburgh and we are keen to work with both the council and the universities to meet this demand."
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www.unite-students.comThe full article contains 515 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
