The number of university students identifying as neurodiverse has increased according to Homes for Students’ (HFS) latest Investor in Students survey results. Almost 15,000 residents living within its properties across the UK responded to the survey.
Homes for Students, one of the UK’s leading providers of purpose-built student accommodation, has released new insights from its Autumn 2025 results, showing that 15.6% of respondents identified as neurodivergent, up from 14.1% the previous year.
What’s more, the survey results showed meaningful and sustained improvements in the experience of neurodivergent students living across its properties year-on-year, in areas such as wellbeing, safety, staff support and overall satisfaction.
Residents were surveyed across several key areas and given an overall net promotor score (NPS) of 50.1, with neurodiverse students scoring highly in value for money and check-in experience.
What’s more, support services in the neurodiverse community were also scored well, notably high ratings for mental health support, safety and staff friendliness.
Kate Forester, Managing Director at Homes for Students said: “These findings reflect the effort our teams put into creating safe, supportive and inclusive environments where every student can thrive. We will continue listening, learning and investing to ensure all students feel at home with us.
“Our NPS and overall satisfaction scores across the board have been impressive, and we scored gold in almost all areas. This invaluable feedback doesn’t mean we will rest on our laurels – but we will continue to strive to create the best home from home for all of our residents.”
Events are a large part of the resident experience at Homes for Students and the survey found that across the board, those who attended an event scored their accommodation more highly. When it comes to neurodiverse students, those that had attended an event scored their overall experience in their property as 30% higher than those that hasn’t attended.
Esi Hardy, Managing Director and Disability Inclusion Expert at Celebrating Disability, said:
“These findings around neurodiversity at Homes for Students are incredibly encouraging. More students feeling able to identify as neurodiverse shows that the stigma is decreasing, and that young people now have the language and confidence to articulate their experiences. The positive feedback from neurodiverse students living with HFS does not surprise me. In my view, these results stem from the way Homes for Students ensures that every student feels welcome, recognised, and supported from the very beginning – something I have witnessed firsthand.
“We have been working with HFS for almost four years, providing training to both central services and operations teams on how best to support students and colleagues with a wide range of disabilities, with a strong focus on neurodiversity.”
Some feedback from neurodiverse residents:
“As someone with autism I was worried about noise, but it’s been quieter than expected.”
“Experience has been overwhelmingly positive. Staff are patient and understanding.”
“I was expecting it to feel overwhelming, but it’s actually been fine.”
“They have been very understanding with my autism and have helped me feel comfortable living here.”
“The team have been so helpful during the hectic move-in, made everything feel calm and manageable.”