12 November 2026 
Martin Higgs, Communications and Campaigns Manager
The results of the recent AUDE survey of members on their student accommodation voids position is now available. This was a quick pulsesurvey of AUDE members. Figures are self-reported and should be treated as indicative.
We were confident that trends would emerge from such a ‘quick and dirty’ survey, which would be useful for us to understand as a whole AUDE membership, while giving a broad benchmark to help us all understand the prevalence of voids across the sector.
Key trends
Voids are rising: across institutions with complete returns, void rates are expected to rise from around 8% to around 10% (roughly 2,000 more empty bedspaces), with the typical institution moving from 5% to about 9%
Recruitment is the main driver: reduced international recruitment (56%) and increased commuting (53%) lead, followed by reduced UK undergraduate recruitment and costs (39% each)
The picture is uneven: around one in four expect void rates of 20% or more
From our respondents we see not only a worsening positioning in voids, but a failure of their best modelling to keep pace with the rate of deterioration in the position: this issue is so salient this term because for many and despite their best efforts, in a volatile market, their modelling does not predict the reality.
