Private halls charge extortionate rates and discourage some from making the move to university, say student judges.
Glasgow is a city teeming with new student developments. A record £4.5billion was invested in the UK student accommodation sector in 2015, according to real estate analysts Cushman and Wakefield. Glasgow alone sees millions of pounds pouring in each year as developers look to grab a slice of this lucrative market.
So when a panel of judges were tasked with choosing the best student accommodation in their area from a shortlist, their response was surprising. They unanimously opposed all eleven ‘for-profit sector’ nominees and refused to name a winner.
Posing the argument that the “real student experience” is too often a choice between paying bills or buying food panel member and student officer at Aberdeen University, Jenny Killin, defended the true nature of the student experience. One in which many students find themselves using up to 90% of their maximum loan to cover the costs of accommodation alone. With the national average student accommodation costs lying at £146 per week, the panel of student judges was critical of all nominees, saying that many were charging up to £300 per week. Some landlords were even alleged to be charging up to £400, and not declaring it on their websites. Highlighting the unacceptable nature of the costs to students, Jenny Killin added:
“Asking us to hand out an award when so many students are pushed into poverty makes a mockery of what is a very real crisis.”
Highlighting the importance of safe, affordable student lodgings, the judging panel said that such expensive accommodation was discouraging students from poorer backgrounds seeking higher education.
The decision taken by the student judges prompted Property Week, the award organisers, to remove the category from this year’s awards ceremony. A spokesperson for Property Week said:
“Next year we will expand the awards categories and include a category for the best affordable student accommodation. We will continue to encourage the industry to raise its game and put the student experience at the centre of everything it does.”
Featured image – Linus Bohman on Flickr
