How much do you think you pay on average to live your life as a student? You’re eating budget student meals, paying for your traditional uni halls rent and going out on student discount prices.
Well, for a basic single room in halls, you can expect to pay around £136 a week which equates to £544 a month. In some areas, you would be able to rent an entire studio or one-bedroom apartment for that money; yet in universities, that money gets you a small prison-esque room with a basic single bed, desk and bedside table.
In 2010, the average cost of student accommodation was just over half the maximum student loan that the government provides. Now, in 2019, that has soared up to 73%. This could leave students with an average of just £14 a week to live off after paying for their rent.
What’s to blame for this absurd inflation in accommodation costs? Rent-strike.org, a company behind the Cut the Rent campaigns across the country, blame the lack of government’s funding towards university establishments. Universities are now using the money earned through accommodation to provide a more stable income.
Even more frustratingly, there has been an increase in more luxury university accommodation than in previous years, with halls providing swimming pools, gyms and games rooms. As predicted, the costs of these accommodations are sky-high and can only be afforded by those from the most privileged backgrounds and wealthy international students. Students who are reliant on their loans cannot afford these glamorous halls and are often forced to find alternative housing and miss out on the halls experience.
The rising cost of student accommodation is putting many students off moving away for university, or even from going to university altogether. In a time where university is advertised as available for everyone, and poorer students are encouraged to go, something needs to be done to make it a viable option.
Imi Byers 