20/09/2026
Nearly 70 students in Dundee have been left scrambling to find accommodation for the new academic year after the latest in a series of student housing schemes collapsed amid growing financial pressure across the sector.
Students due to live at Marketgait Apartments, a city-centre development, have been forced to find alternative accommodation and move their belongings at short notice as the new term begins.
The company behind the 116-room building entered administration in mid-July, with 68 rooms already let. Just weeks earlier, the property was still being marketed to students as a “perfect” place to live.
The collapse highlights wider problems facing the UK’s student accommodation market, where operators are being hit by a combination of weaker demand, regional oversupply, rising borrowing costs and higher construction and maintenance expenses.
International student numbers have fallen for a third consecutive year, while a cost-of-living squeeze is making private accommodation increasingly unaffordable for many domestic students. Although the number of UK students is at a record high, a growing proportion are choosing to live at home rather than pay the cost of renting near their university.
The pressures are unevenly distributed across the country. A boom in purpose-built student accommodation in recent years has left some cities, including Coventry, Leeds and Nottingham, with an oversupply of rooms. Other cities, such as Glasgow, Bristol and London, continue to face shortages, particularly of affordable accommodation.
Modern purpose-built student housing can also be considerably more expensive than university halls or private rentals. As a result, higher-income international students have traditionally formed an important part of the market, while many domestic students are increasingly priced out.
Marketgait Apartments illustrates how these pressures can translate into financial distress.
The building, less than a 10-minute walk from the University of Dundee and Abertay University, was still being promoted by its operator, Prestige Student Living, on 23 June.
“Looking for your perfect student home in Dundee?” the company said in a Facebook post, advertising studios at £199 a week and en-suite rooms at £165 a week. It urged prospective tenants to book quickly to avoid missing out.
Less than a month later, on 15 July, administrators from FRP Advisory were appointed to the Jersey-based special-purpose vehicle that owned the property.
The owners, real estate manager 90 North and Kuwaiti investment company Rasameel, had failed to repay a £5.7m loan secured against the building.
Falling occupancy had contributed to financial losses, leaving the company unable to fund essential fire-safety remedial work. The building remains closed while its new owner, ATK Property, carries out the necessary work.
For the students affected, the financial problems of the property owner have become an immediate housing crisis. More broadly, the episode illustrates the vulnerability of a student accommodation sector that expanded rapidly during years of strong demand but is now confronting weaker occupancy, rising costs and increasingly difficult financing conditions.
Here are SAT-style Reading and Writing questions based strictly on the passage, with a mix of main idea, inference, vocabulary in context, evidence and rhetorical purpose the Bright Prep.
1. Which choice best states the main purpose of the passage?
A. To argue that universities should build more affordable student accommodation
B. To describe the collapse of a Dundee student-housing development and explain the broader pressures affecting the UK student-accommodation sector
C. To compare the quality of student housing in Dundee with that in other UK cities
D. To argue that international students are responsible for rising student-accommodation costs
2. According to the passage, what directly contributed to the financial difficulties of Marketgait Apartments?
A. A sudden increase in construction costs
B. A shortage of international students applying to Dundee universities
C. Falling occupancy and the owner's inability to repay a £5.7m loan
D. A decision by the universities to stop recognizing the building as student accommodation
3. As used in the passage, the word “scrambling” most nearly means
A. competing
B. searching urgently
C. moving secretly
D. negotiating carefully
4. Which choice best describes the relationship between the second and third paragraphs?
A. The second paragraph introduces a problem, and the third provides evidence of a similar problem elsewhere.
B. The second paragraph describes the immediate consequences of a collapse, and the third connects that event to a broader trend.
C. The second paragraph presents an argument, and the third paragraph challenges it.
D. The second paragraph provides historical background, and the third predicts future developments.
5. Why does the passage mention that Marketgait was advertised only weeks before its owners entered administration?
A. To demonstrate that the building had recently undergone extensive renovations
B. To suggest that the company deliberately misled students about the building's financial condition
C. To emphasize how quickly circumstances changed for prospective and existing residents
D. To show that the building was more popular than competing accommodation
6. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the passage's claim that students are increasingly struggling to afford private accommodation?
A. Universities have increased the number of courses available to international students.
B. A growing percentage of domestic students report choosing to live with their parents because of rental costs.
C. Several cities have approved plans for new purpose-built student accommodation.
D. Some student-housing buildings offer communal lounges and concierge services.
7. What can reasonably be inferred from the passage about purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA)?
A. It is uniformly more affordable than university-managed accommodation.
B. Its financial viability can be particularly vulnerable when occupancy falls.
C. It is primarily occupied by domestic students.
D. Its supply is insufficient in every major UK university city.
8. As used in the passage, “oversupply” most nearly means
A. an excess of available accommodation relative to demand
B. a shortage of affordable accommodation
C. an increase in construction expenses
D. a sudden decline in university enrollment
9. Which choice best explains the apparent contradiction between record-high domestic student numbers and weaker demand for some student accommodation?
A. More domestic students are attending universities abroad.
B. Domestic students are increasingly choosing to commute from home rather than rent accommodation near campus.
C. Universities are reducing the number of students they accept.
D. International students are occupying most university-owned housing.
10. The passage indicates that which cities have experienced an oversupply of student accommodation?
A. Glasgow, Bristol, and London
B. Dundee, Glasgow, and London
C. Coventry, Leeds, and Nottingham
D. Dundee, Coventry, and Bristol
Answer Key
1 B
2 C
3 B
4 B
5 C
6 B
7 B
8 A
9 B
10 C
Harder SAT + GRE style inference question
11. Which statement is most strongly supported by the passage?
A. Increasing the number of student-housing developments would necessarily make accommodation more affordable.
B. The student-housing market can experience financial stress even when universities continue to enroll large numbers of students.
C. International students are the only group capable of paying for modern purpose-built accommodation.
D. The collapse of Marketgait Apartments was primarily caused by inadequate university housing policies.
Answer: B
The passage distinguishes between the number of students and the demand for particular types of accommodation. Even with record domestic enrollment, factors such as affordability, commuting, occupancy rates, debt and operating costs can make individual developments financially unsustainable.
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