Student accommodation concerns often ignored, finds new survey
A quarter of complaints to landlords about poor housing conditions are never dealt with, a student survey has found
- Student life
Seeta Bhardwa
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One in four complaints to landlords from students about poor housing conditions are ignored, according to a student accommodation survey.
In a survey of just over 2,000 students, financial website Save the Student found that a听quarter said concerns raised around their housing conditions were not dealt with by landlords.听
The National Student Accommodation Survey 2017 questioned students between 13 and 26 March 2017 about the type of accommodation they live in, the maintenance conditions they face and their housing costs.
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The UK survey found that just 21 per cent of issues were resolved within 24 hours and nearly half took more than a week to be seen to. The most common issue students face is damp, with 46 per cent stating they had experienced this. If left untreated, damp can cause long-term health problems. The second most common issue was a lack of water/heating, with 42 per cent of students naming this as a problem.听
A third year student in the North West 鈥 renting from a private landlord 鈥 said: 鈥The boiler is very old and has broken four times and the landlord refuses to replace it. In November it broke and wasn鈥檛 fixed for four days. The landlord didn鈥檛 provide us with any heaters and the house was so cold that we could see our breath. And he just told us he鈥檇 get it repaired 鈥榓s soon as he could鈥.鈥
Another third year student from the East Midlands who rents from a private landlord said that after struggling to lock the front door 鈥渟omeone didn鈥檛 come until two days later. Our house was not secure and they just kept saying they would send someone out but they never turned up鈥.
Respondents were made up of students who rent from a private landlord (47 per cent), university accommodation (34 per cent), private halls (9 per cent), live with parents (8 per cent) or own their property (1 per cent). One per cent of students belonged to the category 鈥渙ther鈥.听
The survey also found that the average student rent is around 拢125 per week, but this varies depending on where in the UK the student is based.
Rents are the highest for students in London, where they pay on average 拢182 a week. In Northern Ireland, students pay an average weekly rate of 拢91.听
Students living in private halls pay even more, shelling out up to 拢146 a week. However, this is only around 拢10 more than average university rents.
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