A minister told Parliament in February his department has no power over student housing at all. The guidance it published this week to deal with the problem does not give it one either.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
In short. In February 2026 an MP asked the Department for Education (DfE) point blank whether its forthcoming Statement of Expectations on student housing would include "specific measures to ensure independent students can access housing for twelve months whilst at university" and "whether enforcement mechanisms will be in place" [1]. The minister's written answer conceded the department "has no remit to intervene in the provision of student residential accommodation" at all [1]. The Statement itself, published 25 September 2026, delivers exactly that: HE providers are told what they "should" do, care leavers and estranged students get a promise that providers "should take reasonable steps," and nothing in the document creates a guarantee, an enforcement power or a date to check whether any of it happened [2]. Three documented mistakes: four stars.
On 10 February 2026, Will Stone, the Labour MP for Swindon North, tabled a written question to the Secretary of State for Education. He asked whether the department's promised Statement of Expectations on student housing would guarantee independent students, including care leavers, somewhere to live for the full year they are at university, and whether that guarantee would come with any way of enforcing it [1]. Thirteen days later, the department's own answer, from Josh MacAlister, gave the game away before the document had even been drafted.
The question, and the answer that came before the guidance
Stone's question was specific: "whether the Statement of Expectations relating to student housing will include specific measures to ensure independent students can access housing for twelve months whilst at university; and whether enforcement mechanisms will be in place" [1]. MacAlister's answer, dated 23 February 2026, did not say yes or no to either part. It said: "This government recognises that independent students, including care leavers, care experienced students and estranged students, may require additional support to access higher education (HE), including access to student accommodation," and then: "As universities and landlords are autonomous, the department has no remit to intervene in the provision of student residential accommodation. Nevertheless, the forthcoming Statement of Expectations for the HE sector will urge HE providers to plan strategically for the supply of sufficient suitable accommodation for their students and include guidance on how providers can support the needs of vulnerable students" [1]. "Urge" and "no remit" were the department's own words, seven months before the document existed.
The Statement of Expectations landed on GOV.UK on 25 September 2026, a Department for Education guidance page marked "Applies to England" [2]. It opens: "We expect higher education (HE) providers to consider the supply, and affordability of student accommodation in relation to their anticipated student intakes and across all years of study at least 5 years ahead" [2]. Providers "should engage with the local planning authority on need," and where a shortfall is expected, they "should seek to form, or join existing strategic partnerships" with other providers, planning authorities, developers and landlords [2]. Universities "should provide clear and accurate information" about any accommodation guarantee they choose to offer, including its "conditions, limitations, or eligibility criteria" [2]. Every operative verb is "should" or "we expect." None is "must," and none creates a guarantee where a provider chooses not to offer one.
The claims, tested
| The document's own words | What the record actually shows | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Stone's question asked for "specific measures to ensure independent students can access housing for twelve months" and whether "enforcement mechanisms will be in place" [1] | MacAlister's answer, 23 February 2026: "the department has no remit to intervene in the provision of student residential accommodation" [1] | Neither the guarantee nor the enforcement question was answered yes; both were answered with an admission of no power |
| The answer promised the Statement "will urge HE providers to plan strategically for the supply of sufficient suitable accommodation" [1] | The published Statement: "We expect higher education (HE) providers to consider the supply, and affordability of student accommodation... at least 5 years ahead" [2] | Delivered exactly as promised: an expectation to plan, not a requirement to provide |
| The Statement names care leavers, care experienced and estranged students as groups "significantly impacted by housing insecurity" and says providers "should take reasonable steps to prioritise and support" them [2] | No twelve-month accommodation guarantee, minimum term or eligibility floor appears anywhere in the document for this or any other group | The one group the government itself names as most exposed to housing insecurity gets a "should," not the specific measure Stone asked for |
| The only duty the Statement attaches to any of this: providers "must also pay regard to their duties under the Equality Act 2010" [2] | The Equality Act 2010 duty predates the Statement by fifteen years and applies regardless of whether this guidance exists; the document creates no new enforcement route, review date or reporting requirement of its own | The single "must" in the document restates an existing general duty rather than enforcing anything the Statement itself requires |
The mistakes, counted
No twelve-month accommodation guarantee for the students named as most at risk (1). Stone asked specifically about independent students, including care leavers, accessing housing for the full academic year [1]. The Statement names care leavers, care experienced and estranged students as "significantly impacted by housing insecurity" and asks providers to "remove barriers to accessing accommodation," but attaches no minimum term, no guarantee and no eligibility floor to that request anywhere in the text [2].
No enforcement mechanism, despite being asked directly (2). MacAlister's February answer did not claim one was coming, and none has arrived: the Statement's only "must" restates the pre-existing Equality Act 2010 duty rather than creating a new one, and every substantive request to providers is phrased as "should" or "we expect" [1] [2].
No review date or reporting mechanism (3). The document sets no date by which providers' plans, partnerships or accommodation guarantees will be checked, published or compared, and commits the department to no future report on whether supply has actually kept pace with demand. Nobody reading it can tell when, or whether, anyone will look again.
Credit where due
The department did not dress up its lack of power as something stronger than it is. MacAlister's answer was direct about the "no remit" position seven months before publication, rather than implying a guarantee it could not deliver [1]. The Statement also does name a real and specific group, care leavers, care experienced and estranged students, rather than staying silent on who is most exposed, and it correctly flags that providers will need to account for the Renters' Rights Act 2025 reshaping the private rented sector they often rely on [2] [3]. Naming the problem honestly is not nothing. It is just not the specific measure, or the enforcement, that Parliament asked for.
Verdict
Four stars, from three documented mistakes. An MP asked a direct question about a guarantee and an enforcement mechanism for the students most exposed to housing insecurity. The government's own written answer, seven months before the guidance existed, said its department has no power to intervene at all. The Statement of Expectations that followed does not create that power, does not set a term for care leavers' accommodation, and does not say when, if ever, anyone will check whether providers did what it asked.
Sources
- Students: Housing, written question 112316, UK Parliament, tabled 10 February 2026 by Will Stone MP, answered 23 February 2026 by Josh MacAlister MP, Department for Education. (The public-facing page at questions-statements.parliament.uk returns 403 to automated requests; this record was verified directly via the parliamentary written questions API.)
- Student accommodation: statement of expectations, Department for Education, published 25 September 2026.
- Renters' Rights Act 2025 (c. 26), legislation.gov.uk.