For investors, landowners and owners of student blocks
PBSA Explained: Developing and Refurbishing Purpose-Built Student Accommodation in London
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 6 min read
The short answer
PBSA (purpose-built student accommodation) is housing designed and managed for students, usually cluster flats and studios with shared amenity, let by the room. In London a new scheme needs most rooms tied to a university by a nomination agreement and a share of affordable student rooms, and blocks of 18 m or 7 storeys fall under the higher-risk building regime.
- Planning tests: a nomination agreement for most rooms and affordable student rooms, under current London Plan policy.
- Building safety: a block of 18 m or 7 storeys needs Gateway 2 approval before work starts.
- Refurbish or build new: new build has a published price range; refurbishment is priced block by block.
PBSA is purpose-built student accommodation: blocks of studios and cluster flats designed and managed for students and let by the room. In London a new PBSA scheme must tie most rooms to a university and include affordable student rooms. A block of 18 m or 7 storeys also falls under the higher-risk building regime.
This guide is for investors, landowners and owners of older student blocks. It covers whether PBSA is the right use and whether to refurbish or build new. We are a London property developer and a design and build contractor, so we price the scheme as well as test it. Own a site or a block? Get a free site appraisal.
What PBSA is and how it differs from build to rent and co-living
The Mayor of London's guidance describes PBSA as housing dedicated, at least in term time, to full-time students. It may be new-build or converted from other uses. A university or a specialist landlord manages the block.
Most blocks mix studios with cluster flats, where several bedrooms share a kitchen and living room. Shared amenity covers study, socialising and laundry. Rooms are let individually, usually for an academic year.
| Product | Who lives there | How it is let | Planning in London |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBSA | Full-time students | By the room, usually for an academic year | Nomination agreement and affordable student rooms |
| Build to rent | Renters of any kind | As whole homes, on tenancies | Its own London Plan test |
| Large-scale shared living | Individuals renting a private room | A room plus shared facilities | Its own London Plan policy |
Student focus, university links and affordable student rooms are what set PBSA apart. Planning also counts it differently. Every two and a half rooms, or studios, count as one home towards housing targets.
Our guide to build to rent in London covers the rental product. This guide stays with students.
PBSA planning in London: the tests a scheme must pass
London Plan 2021 Policy H15 sets the tests. The Mayor's guidance of October 2024 explains how boroughs apply them.
| Test | What the policy and guidance ask |
|---|---|
| Nomination agreement | Most bedrooms, including all affordable ones, secured by agreement with a university; in practice just over 50 per cent |
| Exception | Not needed where a university builds for its own students |
| Timing | In place by first occupation, for at least a year, and kept going while the block is a student block |
| Affordable student rooms | Rent at or below 55 per cent of the maximum maintenance loan for a new full-time London student living away from home |
| Fast track | At least 35 per cent affordable student rooms, or 50 per cent on public land or suitable industrial land; otherwise viability tested |
Affordable student rooms are secured by a section 106 agreement for the life of the student use. Our guide to CIL and Section 106 explains how those obligations work.
The guidance also asks boroughs to avoid over-concentration of PBSA in one area. A site near a university is therefore a starting point, not an approval.
The draft new London Plan would change this. Savills reported on 17 September 2026 that it proposes Policy HN5 in place of H15. Nomination agreements would then be required for the affordable rooms only. The majority-of-beds rule would not be carried across.
A scheme that passes these tests still has to be built and funded. As a London property developer we work alongside owners from the first appraisal to handover.
Building safety for student blocks
A building is higher-risk if it has at least 7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high, and contains at least 2 residential units. GOV.UK sets out this test.
The regulations define a residential unit as a dwelling or any other unit of living accommodation. A student studio is a unit of living accommodation. The exclusions cover only buildings made up entirely of a secure institution, a hotel or military barracks. Student accommodation is not on the list.
Such a block needs Building Safety Regulator approval at Gateway 2 before work starts. Our guide to Gateway 2 and second staircases sets out the timescales. It also covers the staircase guidance for new blocks of flats with a storey at 18 m or more. Test how that guidance applies to a student block at feasibility, not after planning.
The line at 18 m or 7 storeys is a programme decision as much as a design one. A Building Safety Levy can also apply to larger new student schemes. The guide above explains both.
PBSA development cost: refurbish or build new
New build has a published range. Laxton's 2026 price book gives student's residences at £2,050 to £2,600 per m² of gross internal floor area. That excludes external works, fees and VAT.
| Basis | £ per m² gross internal floor area |
|---|---|
| Laxton's book range, ex external works, fees and VAT | £2,050 to £2,600 |
| With Laxton's London factor of about 1.09 (our arithmetic) | £2,230 to £2,830 |
The book warns that prices well outside its ranges can occur on specific requirements. Read these figures as an opening benchmark, not a quote.
The book gives no refurbishment rate for student blocks, so we do not invent one. These are the factors that move the price:
- Fire strategy and cladding. A pre-2012 block may need its fire strategy and facade re-tested against today's rules.
- Services. Heating, ventilation, electrics and data are often the largest single package.
- Rooms and bathrooms. Room count, bathroom replacement and any shift from cluster rooms to studios set the scope.
- Working in an occupied block. Student lets run by academic year, so the quiet window is the summer. The programme must fit that window.
We price each block trade by trade in a feasibility study. We then deliver it as design and build, with the summer window built into the programme.
We’re extremely happy with Sviat and the Craftex team’s work. They suggested clever ideas, managed the project efficiently, and delivered a functional, modern space. The team was easy to communicate with and very professional throughout the process!
Refurbishing first-generation PBSA
Investors are already buying older stock. Knight Frank reported on 16 February 2026 that investors committed £4.3 billion to UK PBSA in 2025, up 10 per cent. Appetite was strongest for first-generation standing stock.
Knight Frank also reports that 65 per cent of UK PBSA was built before 2012. That stock largely sits in prime locations, but lacks the amenities and specification students now expect. It calls repurposing one of the most compelling investment opportunities in living sectors.
A refurbishment of such a block typically looks at four things:
- The fire strategy and the facade.
- The room mix, including studios in place of older cluster rooms.
- Amenity space for study and socialising.
- Energy performance and building services.
Refurbishment still needs a lawful use. Check the planning history and the nomination position before you price the works.
Our Development Director, Rob Barton, completed The Movement in Greenwich before joining Craftex. The mixed-use scheme has a 104-bed hotel, 6,000 ft² of retail, 358 student apartments, 12,000 ft² of office and 184 private sale apartments. It is his record, from his own portfolio, and not a Craftex project.
How to test a PBSA site or building
A PBSA site is valued on a residual valuation: what the finished scheme is worth, less cost and profit. Run the five checks below before you commit to drawings. Our development appraisal covers all of them.
We take development schemes of £3M to £150M GDV. If your site or block is in that range, send us the address and we will give you a go or no-go answer first.
Five checks before you commit
- Planning: the borough's PBSA policy, over-concentration and the likely share of affordable student rooms
- University demand: which universities are within reach, and whether one will sign a nomination agreement
- Height and safety: storeys, metres and whether the scheme becomes a higher-risk building
- Cost per bed: new build or refurbishment, priced trade by trade
- Exit: who buys or holds the block, and what they pay for its refurbished or new form
