European PBSA in 2030: Sizing up the opportunity

The purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) market in Europe is highly diverse, shaped by differing levels of supply, quality and institutional ownership. The UK is by far the most supplied, with a 32% provision rate. This is more than double the Continental European average provision rate of 15%. Across Europe, private ownership has expanded from 37% in 2016/17 to 53% of all stock in 2024/25, driven by average annual PBSA investment growth of 11% over the same period.
 

• Rising student demand. Favourable demographics and international mobility will double growth in the number of students in Europe, adding 2.2 million by 2029/30, bringing the total to 21 million students.

• PBSA supply shortage. Development constraints will keep PBSA completions 79% below student additions over the next five years. Private capital will continue to fund over half of new PBSA beds, but government involvement will rise via direct funding and public-private partnerships.

• Investment expansion. Investment in Continental Europe is set to reach record levels in 2025 but forward investment lags growing demand. To meet the 2030 core unmet demand, €466 billion* needs to be invested into growing European PBSA stock, 23 times higher than historic total.

• Diverging operational performance. Operational performance strengthens in Continental Europe’s undersupplied markets, while UK performance is normalising following post-Covid boom. Affordability, location and housing availability will shape future performance.
   

Europe’s student population is forecast to expand by a further 2.2 million between 2024/25 and 2029/30. This would represent a 2.2% CAGR, compared to 1.1% over the last five years, bringing the total to 21 million students. The fastest-growing markets - Ireland, Sweden and Spain – are supported by high demand with the young population of 20-24 year-olds rising by more than 3% CAGR over the five years.

Domestic student growth also depends on student living costs. Most countries in Continental Europe offer free or low-cost tuition and substantial financial aid. This can be as high as €10,000 per year in Austria, Denmark and Germany. In these countries, the annual cost of study is less than 5% of average disposable household income, resulting in higher enrolment rates.

Changing graduate visa regimes are expected to support steady international student growth in Continental Europe. This trend benefits private PBSA, where internationals make up 43% of tenants versus 15% of all students in Continental Europe, according to the 2025 JLL and The Class Foundation survey.⁽³⁾ Chinese students remain the largest international group in the EU, despite falling 13% over the last three years, with Indian the second-largest, having risen by 28% over the same period. 

Europe’s PBSA stock is projected to grow by 500,000 beds over the next five years, maintaining a 17% CAGR, reaching 2.9 million beds.⁽¹⁾ Private investment has been the primary driver, accounting for 68% of new supply in 2019-24. Investors will continue to contribute the majority of PBSA completions in the next five years at 51%⁽²⁾ , although new public beds will form a growing share.

Annual new supply has been volatile in recent years, gradually growing since 2020/21 but falling dramatically by -39% in 2024/25, due to challenges in high construction and debt costs limiting viability for new funding deals. This has been compounded by complex planning and regulatory frameworks which can pose a barrier to entry for new capital. Future growth rates, based on current pipelines, reflect changing market dynamics. The least supplied markets, such as Portugal and Italy, can expect accelerated expansion as investors target untapped opportunities and governments seek to incentivise new supply. 

European annual investment is expected to reach €10.2bn in 2025, the second highest level on record. Continental Europe reached a new high, forming more than half the total (53%), with strong growth in Spain, France and Denmark. Overall, investment sales rose 148% year-on-year, with entity deals 60% below 2024. Forward investment stayed flat compared (+4%), although remains well short of student demand.

The largest investors are increasingly pursuing pan-European investment strategies. In the last three years multi-market purchases formed 50% of the top 15 investors’ activity, versus 18% over the previous three years. Operator acquisitions are increasing as investors seek to diversify risk, optimise performance and accelerate growth across key Continental European markets.

Rising student demand has supported higher occupancy rates across undersupplied markets in Continental Europe in 2025/26. Five out of 11 PBSA operators in the region reported year-on-year increases as evidenced in JLL’s 2025 PBSA operator survey conducted in partnership with The Class Foundation.⁽³⁾ This coincided with a 2% annual increase in core unmet demand⁽¹⁾ in the region after no growth last year.

In the UK, the most supplied market, occupancy rates have begun to normalise following the post-Covid surge that drove record performance. Rental growth in 2025/26 also differed :in Continental Europe, rents rose by an average 9% in 2025/26, well above inflation of 2.1%. However, in the UK, schemes recorded negative to modest positive growth, reflecting slowing demand particularly in low-tariff university locations and saturated markets.

Private PBSA is more affordable than PRS studio rents in 11 out of 14 key student cities. These are also the least affordable cities in Europe, where PRS rental affordability averages 39% of disposable income, compared to 32% across all European cities. However, differing dynamics dictate future opportunity. This may be through continued growth in tense PRS markets, affordable solutions in high cost markets or more flexible offerings, expanding the tenant base to maximise performance.

^{1. Based on key European PBSA markets: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.}

^{2. Based on Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the UK.}

^{3. The JLL and The Class Foundation PBSA operator survey included responses from 11 operators (60,000 beds) in Continental Europe, conducted between April and August 2025.}