Top 7 Challenges Student Housing Managers Face

Remember your first time away from home?

Maybe it was a school trip, a summer camp, or a night at a friend’s. But for many, that moment came during their first day at university.

It’s a huge shift. In those early weeks, students anchor themselves to whatever feels familiar.

Student accommodation managers work tirelessly to ensure that students have a smooth transition. However, this role can often feel like a balancing act. One can be part property manager, part problem-solver, part friend, and often all three in a single day.

While stress and time constraints are common challenges, they’re usually symptoms of something deeper: systems that aren’t built to support the human side of the job.

1. Minimizing Maintenance Costs and Property Damage

Property maintenance is one of the primary responsibilities of an accommodation manager. A well-kept space lays the foundation for a positive student experience in a PBSA. A well-maintained space doesn’t just look good; it builds trust and a sense of safety.

Even in the most premium PBSAs, issues are inevitable. Things break, systems wear down, and when they do, speed and communication matter.

Students don’t always report problems right away because they don’t notice them or aren’t sure how to tell. Before you know it, a toilet leak has turned into a mold infestation, or a faulty appliance has resulted in an injury. Proactive measures allow you to step in before a problem gets worse.

Educate Tenants on Apartment Maintenance

Not everyone arrives at university knowing how to clean the air fryer or which button actually starts the dishwasher. These moments are part of the learning curve for many first-time renters.

Incorporate practical lessons into your engagement events. Alongside pizza nights or freshers’ welcome parties, host workshops on laundry basics, kitchen safety, and how to submit maintenance requests properly.

You can also support students with visual guides in the form of step-by-step infographics. Stick them on washing machines, inside kitchen cupboards, or in shared bathrooms. A few simple reminders can go a long way.

This teaches students not only to take care of the equipment they use but also gives them more confidence to ask for help when needed. If they notice something amiss, they won’t hesitate to inform the necessary administrators.

Develop Maintenance Schedules

Identify core aspects of the accommodation that need routine check-ins. Key areas to include are:

• Lighting fixtures
• Plumbing
• Wiring
• Structural fixtures
• HVAC systems
• Fire alarm inspections

Routine unit inspections with tenants can also be helpful. These walkthroughs let you verify that everything in their units is in tip-top shape.

Implement a Digital Ticketing System

Communication breakdowns are a common issue in student accommodations. A student may report a maintenance problem to a receptionist or student experience staff member. That person will then relay the message to maintenance personnel, but if they’re busy, the report might get delayed or lost entirely.

It’s the longest game of telephone where no one wins.

A digital ticketing system cuts through the noise. Students can log issues anytime, anywhere, and with the assurance that the request goes to the right team.

These systems also provide real-time updates about an issue, so a concerned student will never be left in the dark.

2. Administrative Tasks

Admin is part of the job, but when it piles up, it can take over the entire day. Everything from updating tenant records to the sheer volume of paperwork can eat into the time needed for the human side of the role.

Use Property Management Software

Manual reporting is tedious, time-consuming, and often prone to error. Skip the hours of filing documents and deciphering illegible handwriting with property management software.

Property management software gives you a centralized database to access tenant records and lease information. It can also automate day-to-day tasks, like:

• Payment tracking and rent collections
• Tenant management
• Room management
• Maintenance management

Automation keeps records up-to-date, ensuring accuracy and compliance with legal requirements. Platforms like SpaceFlow bring all these features to your fingertips.

Delegate and Train

If your goal is growth, whether in operational excellence or student satisfaction, you need to get comfortable with some extra hands on deck. It might feel like extra work, but it’s one of the most impactful investments you can make.

As a student accommodation manager, every little thing requires your attention. We’re willing to bet that a lot of those can be easily handled by others. Delegate non-core responsibilities, such as data entry, parcel management, and routine tenant communications, to free up your own time and focus on what matters most.

Empower your team members by providing the necessary resources. Proper training and the right digital tools will create a competent team that can operate independently.

3. Tenant Acquisition

Student accommodations face stiff competition, not just from fellow PBSAs but also from private rentals and on-campus dorms. With so many options, students (and their parents) can afford to be selective. With the right approach and a few steps in the right direction, your property can stand out as the clear first choice.

Start With the Basics

Students want more than a bed to sleep in. They want modern spaces that support their lifestyle, wellbeing, and personal growth. At the same time, parents want assurance that their children are living in a well-managed environment.

The good news? You don’t need to start from scratch. Often, it’s the small, thoughtful upgrades that make the biggest difference.

• New coats of paint
• Modern and stylish furniture
• Bigger storage facilities
• Wall art or houseplants in common areas
• Additional WiFi routers and upgraded bandwidth

Make up for what you lack in amenities by staying on top of maintenance.

Launch Targeted Marketing Campaigns

Even the best properties fall under the radar due to poor marketing. Take every opportunity to connect with students and showcase your property’s unique value.

• Online Platforms. Students start their research with a quick Google Search. List your property on websites like student.com and Amberstudent.com to increase your visibility on the SERPs.
• Social Media. Students often turn to social media like Instagram and Facebook for secondary research. Don’t be afraid to flex your property and post pictures of events. Let students envision their life with you.
• Virtual Tours. Virtual tours and walkthroughs are great ways to showcase your property. It gives students the chance to explore their potential home and builds the initial interest to capture leads.
• Partner With Universities. Contact local universities and get your property on a referral program.

Student accommodations can also provide incentives, such as discounts or cashback.

4. Securing Lease Renewals

Lease renewals are just as important, if not more, than getting new tenants. They maintain a steady, thriving community and reduce turnover and vacancy costs.

Put the Student Experience First

There’s a reason why we told you to delegate and automate. All the time saved can go to delivering a better experience for tenants. This can mean resident engagement events and creating more touchpoints to interact with students.

More time with your residents means more time to get to know them, discover their pain points, and address them.

Is someone struggling with rent? Offer a flexible payment plan. Roommate issues? See if a studio upgrade is possible.

Use this information to personalize the renewal experience and provide solutions that matter.

Renewal Incentives

Renewal incentives can come in many forms, from discounts and cashback to room upgrades and referral programs. Referral programs can both increase renewals and attract new tenants–two birds with one stone!

5. Parcel Management

Students get a lot of things through the mail, from online orders to university documents and care packages from home. Parcel management is one of those value-added services that students really count on, but it’s become a bottleneck in many accommodations.

Many student accommodations lack dedicated parcel management staff. This means that the people left to handle the work would need to sacrifice either their core tasks or parcel collection.

Parcel Logging

Logging efficiency is the first step to solving all your parcel management problems. If your team is still handwriting parcel and recipient details into a logbook, you will never find a solution.

Parcel management software can scan labels and capture all the necessary information in seconds. This reduces manual data entry and increases accuracy. Parcel management software can also send automated notifications to recipients, so your team wouldn’t have to worry about contacting students individually.

This way, your team can spend less time logging parcels and more time focusing on their core responsibilities.

Parcel Collection

The next challenge is to ensure that students can collect their parcels quickly and safely. Students rely on their accommodations to protect their parcels. If a parcel goes missing or if the student has a bad collection experience, it ultimately falls back on the accommodation team.

Parcel lockers have built-in security features, such as one-time access codes, to ensure that only the recipient is able to open them. However, they are not easy to implement or scale, especially if you don’t have the space to begin with.

Package rooms are a simpler and more flexible option. They provide a centralized storage location, and you can turn it into a touchpoint or an access-controlled room for self-service collections.

Check out this article to learn more about the difference between parcel lockers and package rooms.

6. Security

Parents are often the final decision-makers in their children’s housing choices. When they choose your accommodation, they’re placing their trust in you to provide a safe and secure environment for their child.

Modernize Student Safety

Student safety goes beyond having a presence at the front desk. Basic security features, when implemented effectively, serve as the backbone of a safe community.

• Access Control System. Prevent unauthorized intruders from entering student accommodation buildings.
• Visitor Management System. Manage social visits safely and securely in real time with a digital guest record.
• CCTV. Get a bird’s eye view to detect and record unusual activity in common areas.

It also helps to keep all areas well-lit, especially outdoor spaces like parking lots. Partner and maintain relationships with local police forces and EMTs to ensure rapid response in emergencies.

Educate Tenants and Staff

Safety is a shared responsibility built by every member of the community.

Provide periodic training on emergency protocols, including fire safety, first aid, and evacuation procedures. Equip staff and tenants with the skills to use fire extinguishers, identify hazards, and respond to medical emergencies. Regular drills and workshops not only ensure preparedness but also create a culture of safety and accountability.

7. Move-in and Move-out Day

While move-in and move-out days are a behemoth task for any property, student accommodations get an overwhelming surge during the start and end of university terms. Managers often need to organize the torrent of students in a short time frame.

Schedule Move-in and Move-out Times

Reach out to new tenants with proposed date and time options before the start or end of a lease period. This prevents congestion and ensures that there’s no shortage of resources like parking, moving carts, or support staff.

Support and Guidance

The student experience starts and ends with a lease contract, so make sure you’re supporting students all throughout. Provide informational pamphlets for FAQs like “Where do I pick up my keys?” or “Where can I park?”

Move-in and move-out days can be stressful and overwhelming for students, so checklists can be helpful.

For students who are moving in, you can provide a checklist of what to bring to their student accommodation. For students who are moving out, you can provide a checklist for the move-out procedure to avoid last-minute problems.

Solutions for Common Management Problems in Student Accommodation

The goals and problems in PBSAs often feel like a never-ending loop: inefficiencies create stress, stress leads to more problems, and those problems feed back into inefficiency. But this cycle doesn’t have to continue. Address each challenge head-on and implement actionable solutions to create a smoother and more successful operation.

Start today with Parcel Tracker. Discover features to solve the parcel management problem and reinvest your energy into creating a supportive student environment.

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