Levitate Student - Accommodation Protest

UCL Students protest accommodation costs

Students at UCL are working up to a rent strike regarding the soaring accommodation costs as reported here by The Independent 

This is an important matter for the students, their families and the institutions themselves.

University halls vary widely in quality and price. The contract terms too vary with respect to number of weeks the tenancy runs, times when the room needs to be vacated, bills & extras included and so on. Universities vary too in the housing stock available, some able to accommodate all their freshers, others directing their students to private halls of residence or the private landlord sector.

Student in accommodation

Universities vary in when and how they take the rent payments. Many take the rent in termly installments. Some front load their accommodation charge such that the first installment of rent is perhaps 40% rather than a third of the full cost. This strategy can leave a new student with little no student finance left in their bank account. Starting their student life overdrawn or turning to family for extra help. This can certainly diminish the excitement of the start of their new journey. Also it can come as a shock to a new student, who after a week or two decides they do not like the university & wants to withdraw, that they are tied into that legal tenancy. They didn't realise they would still expected to pay the rent or find a replacement student for their room. 


New students may feel a pressure to move into halls or risk miss out on the full student experience. They may worry that the option of looking for a room in a student private rented is too scary for a first year especially as they wouldn't know their housemates.  

How much does the pressure on the students give confidence to the senior managers, responsible for the accommodation income, to hike the rent tariffs? We recall one such manger saying - "well they keep on signing up which is good". That's the bottom line, if they "sell" every room then that understandably affords them confidence. 

The student consumer is not really empowered in this transaction. Many must feel like they have no option but to sign up. That then leads to the collective consumer grievance now being expressed by students at UCL and expressed by many students up and down the UK. As consumers some feel they have to buy into a service which they don't consider value for money or affordable based on their circumstances. 

Money Bee

The growing dissatisfaction will not be going unnoticed by university senior management teams. Universities have shifted to calling students customers and now need to respond appropriately to that customer voice. 

Students need to be confident and empowered consumers, be fully informed and raise their concerns to seek the changes in the student industry that they want.

See our Know Where to Look pages for Housing Advice