As tuition fees rise and the cost of living skyrockets, university students are often the ones left to suffer with limited support, especially in regard to housing. The 2023 National Accommodation Survey concluded that 63% of students struggle to be able to pay for accommodation and even two in five students consider dropping out due to the cost. Renting from private landlords is cheaper than university accommodation, but this also means that the percentage of students being taken advantage of by landlords is increased. University students often struggle financially and emotionally in these situations, with housing being one of the most stressful aspects of student life. My own experience, unfortunately, reflects this.
My first-year experience involved a rat infestation, handles falling off doors, and being locked out of my room. Similar to most university students, I stayed in university halls with a similar lack of safety standards. The lack of accountability, especially as these accommodations house thousands of students, reflects the rising number of students who prefer to live at home, or in extreme cases, drop out. This substandard service continues into private renting with private landlords who force or charge students for fixing anything that doesn’t fit health and safety standards, even though it isn’t their responsibility.
As student housing is hard to find, many privately rent in non-student properties. One in six young adults live in poor-quality housing and, for many, this can often leads to illness. In my second year of uni, I lived in a house where the heating didn’t work and there was mould. The landlord said it wasn’t his problem and we had to sort it ourselves. My housemate was ill for months and this affected her attendance and, subsequently, her grades.
These are standard stories that most university students will tell you; it would’ve happened either to themselves or someone they know. Unfortunately, landlords will also try to make students pay for everything they can, using their age and inexperience against them. My worst experience of this was in my third year. We had chairs that were broken when we moved in and, as we continued to use them, unsurprisingly, the damage worsened. When we asked for the chairs to be replaced, we were told that we had overused the chairs, as we are only allowed to sit in them when we eat food and so we must pay. Our sink had been broken for months, and the landlady never came back to fix it. Then, she demanded we pay for it when we moved out.
Unfortunately, the worst situation for students is when there is a problem with safety, not with the quality of the accommodation but with the actions of the landlord. My experiences in my third and fourth years reflected this. There are rules in place to protect tenants from landlords, but it is difficult to reinforce these rules. In my third year, my landlady arrived at the house without the necessary 24-hour notice and shouted abuse at me for 25 minutes, accusing me of damaging property. We reported her to the agency for multiple violations, but nothing could be done about it. I then had to continue living in the house feeling incredibly uncomfortable.
The most extreme case I have experienced is a landlady that my friend and I had in our fourth year. We lived in a two-bedroom house with a live-in landlady who occupied a caravan in the front garden. I was paying my rent in cash so the situation wasn’t the best from the beginning, but after only two weeks, I felt incredibly uncomfortable. I was being bombarded with messages insulting me because I went to the gym and didn’t say what time I would be home. After being recommended that I call the police, I reported her and moved out, however my friend decided to stay. The cheap rent was too appealing. After a couple of months, she also called the police and moved out after the landlady shouted at her for using the kitchen, grabbed her, and then claimed my friend had threatened her.
Despite reaching out to the university, the council, and the Citizens Advice Bureau, there was very limited support granted to us as students. The resources available to students in a crisis are usually insufficient, 52% of students reported not having access to wellbeing services. This highlights a systematic problem: students are left vulnerable to housing exploitation with little protection.
Student housing is more than just a temporary situation–it’s where young people should feel safe while pursuing their education. With costs rising and conditions worsening, universities, governments, and housing associations need to step in to provide better safeguarding for students.
