Is Purpose Built Student Accommodation development still viable in London?
In recent years, the topic of affordable rent provision and development viability in London for Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) has become a contentious topic amongst developers, investors, agents and valuers alike.
PBSA-related conferences in recent years have been riddled with murmurs that the proposed 35% affordable rent provision proposed by the Greater London Authority (GLA) could scupper the viability of developing PBSA in Greater London in the near future.
Not only will new schemes submitted to the planning pipeline be subject to impositions on affordable rent provision, but also the draft London plan suggests that each new development should be operated directly by one specific higher education institution or linked to one of the capitals many prestigious institutions …