Start-ups Fuel the Indian Student Housing Movement

Fresh and wholesome meals, wi-fi, housekeeping and laundry services, app-enabled living in an air-conditioned environment. Welcome to the world of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), or housing specifically built for students. An alternative to ubiquitous hostels and paying guest (PG) accommodation, student housing offers an environment and services that align with the needs of today’s students. “With every passing year, this upcoming housing segment is gaining ground among start-ups who want to expand the number of beds across India. Despite this increased focus, PBSA has still not caught on with real estate developers despite being a lucrative alternate real estate asset class. India's lacklustre response to student housing stands in sharp contrast to trends in countries like UK, US and Australia, where it is an evolved and profitable real estate segment.” Anuj Puri, Chairman - ANAROCK Property Consultants As per data provided by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development, India currently has over 36 million students pursuing higher education. This population is increasing y-o-y, and more than one-third comprises of migrant students who throng to educational hubs such as Pune, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Noida, Nagpur and Kota, among others. Student housing generates a massive demand of more than 10 million beds across the major Indian education-focused cities. Hostels and residential facilities in most educational institutes barely meet 18-20% of the student housing demand. As the sector grows, tremendous opportunities will arise for various models of the student housing business - university tie-ups, independent housing, facilities management, staffing, etc., to flourish. Sensing the potential of the student housing market, many start-ups have entered the fray. Student housing providers such as Oxfordcaps, Tribestays, PLACIO, Stanza Living, Campus Student Communities, Housr, Simplyguest, etc. currently operate in Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Noida, Mumbai, Indore, Dehradun, Ahmedabad and Jaipur. The top 10 players in the organized student housing space collectively operating slightly over 75,000 beds with plans to touch nearly 2 lakh beds by 2020.