As landlords and letting agencies raise rents, university students may be the hardest-hit group when it comes to finding affordable housing. Many have just turned eighteen and are leaving home for the first time, thrust into an unfamiliar city where they know nobody. It’s difficult enough trying to navigate independent living and full-time coursework without the additional challenges presented by the cost of living crisis; suddenly the electric bill is half as much as your rent, and even Aldi food shops wrack up a fortune. And now, an alarming number of students are being outright denied accommodation — they’re forced to turn to the private rental market with no experience of flat-hunting or local knowledge which letting agencies avoid, and they’re willing to overlook all of this because they’re desperate for a place to live before the semester starts. It’s easy to take advantage of a teenager in such a predicament.
So why exactly are there such monumental issues for the 2022 freshers when it comes to finding accommodation? It could be down to the high volume of applicants encouraged into higher education courses; the number has been steadily climbing for a few years now. ‘The number of students being accepted onto places at UK higher education institutions through Ucas hit a record high of 570,000 in 2020,’ reports Lucie Heath at iNews, ‘up by 17 per cent compared to a decade ago. Last year’s figure was slightly lower at 562,000.’ So there’s more demand and certainly more opportunity to pursue a degree, but perhaps not enough room to accommodate this. For example, Glasgow University’s Students’ Representative Council states their uni has accepted too many new students, despite upping the capacity of their student housing by 25% compared to last year (Dalgetty, 2022).
The overall situation in Glasgow is dire, with some first-year students told there’s no guarantee there would be a place for them in student halls (Heath, 2022). Forget about it if you’re within commuting distance; you’ll be expected to find somewhere else or stay home with your parents — this could be a suitable arrangement for a lot of young people trying to save money, but it isn’t always a safe bet. Many students choose to leave home to immerse themselves in the true ‘university experience’ which involves partying without a curfew, plenty of alcohol, and other illicit activities that would be banned or at least deemed awkward back home. But for others, their reasons run deeper — some are trying to escape broken or abusive households and their ticket to a better life has been withdrawn. It’s not easy to find private housing when you’ve never lived on your own before, as many landlords require references and guarantors (and for those who don’t have a stellar relationship with their parents or anyone else who’d be willing to back them financially, this can be difficult to provide).
The problems in Glasgow — where the uni has ‘strongly advised’ students not to register at the uni at all and therefore not to confirm their place in studying there unless they have a secure place to stay (Dalgetty, 2022) — are unfortunately not unique. A couple of hours east in St Andrews, there are more housing shortages. Students who have been unsuccessful in finding accommodation in the historical town have been told their best bet for housing is Dundee, and they’ll simply have to commute (Robertson, 2022). However, the bus journey from Dundee city centre often takes up to an hour to travel the 15 miles to St Andrew's due to roadworks and rush hour traffic. More than 130 students have reached out directly for help, but the uni has blamed the local rentals which have been converted into more and more Airbnbs for tourists, and a cap on HMO housing. It seems they’re not willing to take the blame for the block of student flats which were demolished in 2018 and aren’t due to be replaced until 2026. Additionally, St Andrews is a world-renowned university attracting top applicants from around the world — as a graduate living in Dundee, I can imagine you’d have a very different experience staying here, and you’d have a right to complain this isn’t what you signed up for.
The housing crisis has not fairly welcomed new students into the world of higher education. It doesn’t help that 65% of students in one survey posted on the Mirror admit having regrets about going to uni; their reasons range from poor learning or poor quality of teaching to wasted degrees that haven’t been used to choosing subjects entirely unrelated to their current careers (Bradley, 2022). Student debt is also a significant factor in why many feel going to uni wasn’t worth it. Some people are calling universities oversubscribed, overpriced and unhelpful, and reject the idea that we should have to decide what to do with our lives at sometimes just seventeen years old. Sometimes you’re not fully taught the skills you’ll end up needing for your future job, and instead, a growing number of students turn to platforms like Skillshare to teach themselves what a lecturer has failed to do.
This isn’t to warn anyone away from university — if you’re passionate about your subject and think it’s the right choice for you, by all means, go ahead. However, it’s more crucial nowadays than ever before to do your research before you sign up for anything; observe the university satisfaction rates, read others’ reviews, and consider the long-term costs. And make sure you have a Plan B when it comes to housing — unfortunately, nothing is guaranteed anymore.
Figure 1: Affordable housing protest, The University Times.
References
Bradley, S. (2022). ‘Five graduates on why they regret going to university’, Metro [online]. Available at: https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/26/five-graduates-on-why-they-regret-going-to-university-17232285/ (Accessed 22 September 2022).
Dalgetty, L. (2022). ‘Glasgow students denied university accommodation for coming year’, Glasgow Live [online]. Available at: https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-students-denied-university-accommodation-24729498 (Accessed 22 September 2022).
Heath, L. (2022). ‘First-year students facing university accommodation shortage as undergraduates pushed to ‘predatory’ landlords’, inews [online]. Available at: https://inews.co.uk/news/first-year-students-university-accommodation-shortage-1800704 (Accessed 22 September 2022).
Robertson, A. (2022). ‘St Andrews students told to commute from Dundee amid housing shortage’, The National [online]. Available at: https://www.thenational.scot/news/20681012.st-andrews-students-told-commute-dundee-amid-housing-shortage/ (Accessed 22 September 2022).
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