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Student accommodation developer Unite said reservations for the next academic year were supportive of its rental growth guidance.
Reservations for the 2022/23 academic year across the company's entire property portfolio currently stood at 60% of rooms, compared to 58% at the same time last year.
'We expect strong student demand for 2022/23 from both domestic and international students but anticipate a slightly later sales cycle for international students than in a typical year due to uncertainty relating to COVID-19,' Unit said.
'As a result, we have increased our focus on retaining existing direct-let customers, which has led to an increased share of sales to re-bookers.'
' This is supportive of our guidance for full occupancy and rental growth of 3.0-3.5% for the 2022/23 academic year.'
Unite said the latest guidance from the UK's Department for Education confirmed that education settings would remain open for face-to-face teaching.
Over 70% of checked-in students had already returned to their accommodation, which Unite said was in line with a typical year.
'We expect the remaining students to arrive shortly, following the start of the spring term,' it added.