Housing Providers

There are 3 main types of student housing providers: landlords, letting agents, and Purpose Built Student Accommodation Providers (PBSAs).

Landlords

In simple terms, a landlord is a person who rents out land, a building, or accommodation. Durham has a wide variety of landlords – some own very few properties, others own a large number of properties. Some live in Durham, some do not, and many more do not live in the UK. Some were students here themselves.

Details of many of Durham’s student landlords are available through public records like the HMO Licensing Register hosted by local authority Durham County Council.

Landlords may use the services of a local letting agent or property manager to handle the letting and / or day-to-day management of their properties.

Letting Agents

Letting agents facilitate agreement between landlords and tenants to rent a property. They can handle some or all aspects of advertising, signing for and managing a rental.

In England, letting agents are subject to consumer protection law – which protects consumers from unfair business practices and poor quality products and services. They must:

• be members of a government-approved redress scheme;
• be registered with a government-approved Client Money Protection scheme;
• protect tenancy deposits through a government-approved scheme.

Redress schemes provide a way for tenants and landlords to lodge complaints against letting agencies, and for those complaints to be managed independently. You can find out more here: Letting agent redress schemes - Shelter England

Purpose Built Student Accommodation Providers

By the academic year 2025/26 there will be 14 large PBSAs in Durham’s DH1 postcode area with sites as follows:

• Unite (Rushford Court, Elvet Studios, Houghall Court)
• Student Roost (Chapel Heights)
• Fresh Student Living (Dun Holm House, New Kepier Court)
• Mansion Student (Ernest Place)
• Host Students (Village at the Viaduct)
• Student Cribs (Crossgate Lofts)
• Prestige Student Living (Duresme Court, St Giles Studios)
• Student Castle (Student Castle)
• Morgan Douglas (Three Tuns)
• Mezzino (Regatta Place)

It is worth noting the following (correct at October 2024):

• Rushford Court is now the temporary home of the College of St Hild & St Bede;
• New Kepier Court is leased by University College;
• Village at the Viaduct is part-leased by the College of St Hild & St Bede;
• Ernest Place is wholly leased by Durham University.

In effect there are therefore 11 sites you could look at when considering your housing options.

Fresh Student Living, Mansion Student, Student Castle and Morgan Douglas are all members of the Durham City Student Lettings Code of Practice.