Gold-plated guarantor services unlock access to student accommodation at unprecedented pace

Earlier this year, the Top 10 Places to Study Abroad Survey – sent to 20,000 prospective students, representing 195 countries – saw the UK crowned as the best place in the world to study abroad. UK rental guarantor service Housing Hand is seeing students from these 195 countries, and many others, using its guarantor services to help them find accommodation for their studies in the UK.

Students come to the UK from across the globe to complete their education, placing immense pressure on the student accommodation sector every September, and often resulting in plenty of stress for young people about to start their studies here. Housing Hand is on a mission to take that stress out of the process, breaking down barriers for students looking to access accommodation in the UK.

With this goal in mind, the company is delivering gold-plated know your customer (KYC) and ID verification services that take just 35 seconds to complete. Previously, such checks would have taken at least 48 hours. Housing Hand also provides light-touch onboarding to streamline the process.

Students certainly seem to be appreciating the speedy service; Housing Hand has achieved 50% growth in the past six months and is on track to see over 2,500 renters use its guarantor services for tenancies in September alone. Around 90% of these are students. The company has maintained its impressive record of 100% payouts on all valid rental guarantor claims despite the massive growth.

“We have been delighted to help so many more students successfully access accommodation in the UK over the past several months, with over 80% choosing to use our subscription-based guarantor service, which doesn’t contain any hidden costs. We have developed innovative partnerships and light-touch technical integrations over the past few years, which is translating into smoother, less stressful rental experiences for young people choosing to attend university in the UK.”

James Maguire, Head of Sales and Business Development, Housing Hand

 
In addition to offering faster, slicker rental services thanks to its tech investments, Housing Hand is providing dedicated account managers to key accommodation and university clients. This means it can support even those who have left accessing student accommodation to the last minute.

“Applications from students have come in thick and fast in recent weeks – much faster than usual, even accounting for this being the busiest time of year for the student accommodation sector. With a lack of homes available in many UK towns and cities, students need all the help they can get to find suitable accommodation. For latecomers, this is even more critical, so we’ve put support in place to ensure rapid access to accommodation even at short notice.”

Graham Hayward, Chief Operating Officer, Housing Hand

Growth of 50% is usually the kind of scaling associated with start-ups, but Housing Hand has been providing rental guarantor services to students and working professionals for over a decade. Recent growth is the result of a dynamic strategy that has seen the firm further increase its dominant market share.

Further announcements by Housing Hand ready for the new season are anticipated.