UOW employing a housing support manager to help students find accommodation

"We are in the process of recruiting a housing support manager role as well as having formed an agreement with an external provider to secure additional accommodation places for students who haven't been able or who have not aimed for UOW accommodation," a UOW spokesman said.

"We are doing everything we can to assist domestic and international students as they navigate the Wollongong rental market."

Read more: Families asked to help host UOW students

The university sold its Weerona and Marketview residences during the Covid pandemic but was forced to pay $169 million when a deal for Morrison & Co to take over student accommodation was terminated as occupancy guarantees could not be met.

The spokesman did not directly answer a whether the sale had been the right decision.

"The relationship with Morison & Co. allowed the university to expand accommodation offerings to students with more than 1,000 additional student beds to UOW's accommodation portfolio, all of these on the Wollongong campus," he said.

He doubted there was about to be a rush of Chinese students looking for accommodation and said international students were already here.

"International and domestic students are already in the market and have been for some time - as they typically are every year in January and February," he said.

"It is why residential vacancy rates in Wollongong are generally lower in January and February than they are in December - and have been every year since 2010."

UOW said where students choose to seek accommodation - whether on campus in a UOW residence, off campus in a share house or unit, or staying with a local Wollongong family through the Homestay program - was "a matter of individual choice and responsibility".

Students having difficulty finding somewhere to live can call the dedicated Accommodation Support Hotline 4221 577 for help and advice.