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[Stuka]

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/25/london-students-refuse-to-pay-rent-and-demand-40-cut

More evidence that a university education is fast becoming too expensive for your average British student these days. It's not just about exorbitant tuition fees, but also the other stuff like rented accommodation that is taking its toll. Chances are that the degree that these students are working towards will have no market value later and the only thing students will have to look forward to is years of trying to pay off a mountain of debt. Is the game really worth the candle?

[Dedicated]

I think this is more a reflection of the forbidding costs of living in London generally for everybody, not just students.

London is by far the most expensive area in the UK in which to live. In 2015 -16, at 226 GB pounds, the highest average weekly rent was in London , which is 69% more than the average rent for the rest of the country. This compares with 118 pounds in Wales. Driven by the expensive Edinburgh and Aberdeen markets, Scotland is second at 150 pounds per week.

UCL is situated in the centre of one of the most expensive cities in the world. According to the NUS Unipol Accommodation Cost Survey 2014-2016, freedom of information shows that overall UCL has spent a greater sum of money on residences than it has generated by way of income from the same source.

Given the cost of housing in central London, UCL has actually been more successful, albeit with higher rents overall, in keeping a significant proportion of its accommodation within the 120-150 pound band and not being drawn into developing very high cost accommodation. At UCL, 20% of hall rentals are between 120-150 pounds and 50% between 150-200 pounds. In contrast, at Exeter University, lower cost accommodation has been squeezed below the 20% level, while a significant proportion of its accommodation is in the high 200-250 pound band.

At UCL, there are currently 37,000 students but only 4,340 bed spaces, so students are lucky to get hall accommodation at all. The hall where the students are protesting is a catered hall (Ramsay Hall) where they get cooked breakfast and dinner 5 days out of seven for about 150 pounds a week. They signed a contract in September 2015 for the academic year. I seriously doubt the likelihood of getting a 40% discount as there is a 12.4% annual rise in house rental prices in London.

For the 2015-2016 academic year, new students are eligible for the maximum amount of maintenance loan available at 5,740 pounds a year, and subject to parliamentary approval, students starting in 2016-17 will receive up to 10,702 in London maintenance.

[Stuka]

[Dedicated]

deleted

[grahamb]

The link appears to be dead.

[Dedicated]

Apologies

The correct link is

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/07/rent-strikes-ucl-students-deepen-inequality

[grahamb]

Thanks.

When I was a student in the early 80s my catered accommodation cost around £400 a term. Those were the good old days of student grants. Education is once more becoming the preserve of the rich.

[Dedicated]

A little bit of progress has been made which will not solve the problem but is definitely a step in the right direction.

There are about 5,000 students currently in UCL accommodation and 37 students who have taken part in the rent strike are still withholding rent. Contrary to reports, UCL has not begun any formal proceedings against them, but just requested payment.

As from 2016/2017 the rents are either being reduced or frozen for 1,224 rooms, representing around 30% of the accommodation owned by UCL.

* Rent has been reduced by 21 pounds per week for 186 smaller rooms in 5 halls of residence.
*Rents have been frozen for 536 of the cheapest rooms.
*Rents have been reduced for 502 rooms at Ramsay Hall, which is fully catered.
* UCL has increased the number of twin rooms at Hawkridge House to offer the cheapest rate across all of UCL accommodation