An $80 million student accommodation hub has been approved for Wellington Street in the Perth CBD, as the state continues to tackle the deepening housing crisis.
Set to open in 2026, UniLodge’s 33-storey accommodation development will provide 835 beds in some 550 rooms and will feature amenity areas such as a lounge facility, cinema, and podcast rooms.
The accommodation hub is set to be built 200 metres from the Edith Cowan University (ECU) City Campus in Yagan Square, where an estimated 8,000 domestic and international students are expected to study from 2026 onwards.
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d3385.378025090796!2d115.85232251127782!3d-31.950639773911565!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x2a32bad3799842bf%3A0x5296f9c2519463cd!2s609%20Wellington%20St%2C%20Perth%20WA%206000!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sau!4v1710246054751!5m2!1sen!2sau&w=600&h=450]Currently in Perth, there are 4,200 purpose-built beds available for domestic and international students, meaning the state only provides one bed for every 27 students.
With the housing crisis deepening and increasing stress on students, the accommodation hub is set to offer some relief for the local rental market, which currently has a historically low vacancy rate of 0.3 percent.
Support services helping students find housing
Late last year, ECU’s support team created a ‘Housing Adviser’ role to assist students in navigating the housing market.
The role sits within ‘Student Life’ at ECU, which aims to deliver services and evidence-based programs for current students.
Lisa Gibb, a Housing Advice Officer for ECU, said the new service provides many benefits to students who are struggling with the housing market.
“The [ECU Student Success Housing Service] provides guidance, advice and support to students to access student accommodation, private rental market and other accommodation opportunities.”
“There is also an advocacy on behalf of ECU students to accommodation providers, to increase housing opportunities available to students,” said Mrs Gibb.
She also said the service provides an accommodation portal dedicated to only ECU students, thus creating a “less competitive environment.”
“Student Life [delivers] and manages the new ECU Accommodation Listings platform, which connects students with local accommodation providers such as homeowners and leasing a room in their property”.
Good initiatives
Other universities in Perth also offer similar accommodation initiatives to help their students find a place to live.
Hayden Worth, Secretary of Student Committee at UWA Campus Living, said the student accommodation (Colleges) at UWA allow students to live on their own whilst having support from others.
“You’re living there independently, but it still has a support network, so you’ve got different people who are keeping an eye on you, making sure you’re doing well mentally and academically”.
The accommodation supports with food where tenants get 7-14 meals from the dining hall, which helps provide a social life and encourages students to build connections through various events and opportunities provided.
Mr Worth also said student accommodation is a better deal than most.
“I’m in a studio on $430 a week so it’s pretty hefty, but it does include all utilities, electricity, gym memberships so it does work out to be a decent deal”.
Zero vacancies
While more beds becoming available for students is good news, Perth is also set to bring in more international and domestic students to the city, with a large backlog of student visas still being processed.
ECU will also reportedly decommission its current Mt Lawley facilities as the new UniLodge tower opens.
ECU student Zane Carroll said there simply aren’t enough accommodation facilities and that the process to apply for student accommodation can be exhaustive.
“I definitely think there’s more that needs to be done, because even applying for student accommodation is a long process and you need signatures from people who are just higher up to support your claim”.
Likewise, Hayden Worth said all of the five colleges at UWA are booked out. So whilst it’s less competitive than finding a rental place in the general rental market, it’s still very competitive.
“It’s not really talked about too much, so there is opportunity for universities and from government help to support more beds being available for students,” Mr Worth said.
