Business chances in student crisis?

Our universities are climbing the world rankings, but in terms of delivering student satisfaction, we risk falling way behind unless they get their accommodation provision sorted out.

The annual summer scrap for rental properties ahead of the start of a new academic year is a ridiculous situation.

It leaves young people - already struggling with a mounting burden of student debt - vulnerable to unscrupulous landlords and the stress of worrying whether or not they will have a roof over their heads.

Tales of rent hikes and grubbing auctions are just another sorry symptom of the nation’s housing crisis, which continues to be allowed to carry on unchecked by rules and regulations.

Universities are making a packet out of attracting more foreign students to study and live here.

International students are paying fees four times the norm. At Auckland University for example, a standard BA course costs in excess of $32,000 per academic year.

And it is wrong to assume the families of all of these young people can also afford to buy an apartment or house outright for them too.

Student visa numbers fell last year after a tightening of English language requirements, but numbers are expected to start rising again. Education is big business for New Zealand, raking in $3.1billion in the year to March 2016.

So why are universities not doing more, not just for students who are from different countries, but for domestic students who are miles away from home?

Greater investment in student accommodation is badly needed for the safety and security of the student population and government should feel a responsibility to help out.

Yet this critical situation also must open up opportunities for developers and companies too.

Surely, if there is money to be made in retirement villages, there must be similar profit opportunities at the other end of life. Creative investment would contribute to the development of this lucrative industry.