Charlotte Lewis
Word Count – 635
Level 1 – Group MJ1/2
Writing for Multimedia
Written 22/03/2011
Title - Student Lettings Lottery
Students everywhere are feeling the strain of some of the most difficult months university life has thrown at them yet.
Finding a house for their second academic year often causes many students a large amount of stress and anxiety. The student house hunt generally begins for most during the semesters following Christmas, which are already difficult for students for all manner of reasons; exams, hefty assignment hand-ins, and financial instability. Are stressed out students getting the help and quality housing their money deserves?
According to the University of Southampton the average cost of renting a room for a student in Southampton in 2009/10 was £60 - £70 per week, excluding bills. However, many landlords appear to be demanding prices above this average and, although student rent may have gone up in the last year, often their quality does not seem to match their price tag. Many students may have to put up with problems such as damp, faulty appliances, pest infestations, lack of security and issues with landlords.
Elisha Kyne, a first year student at Brighton University, has already viewed 16 houses in her search for a reasonable standard of accommodation. She says:
“Brighton is the second most expensive city in the UK and I understand that I will be paying more, but for the quality of a lot of the housing I have seen I don’t think it is fair at all.”
Iwona Jankowska, Property Maintenance manager for Southampton based company ‘Posh Pads’, who specialise in student lettings, said:
“It is a sad truth that rent prices rise while the condition of some of the properties deteriorates, but it cannot be avoided.”
Iwona explains how ‘Posh Pads’ works hard to keep the quality of their houses up to standard:
“We carefully check each property after each year of tenancy. Each house gets a proper care and is constantly maintained to improve its quality. Every year we choose a couple of properties that require refurbishment most and we proceed with the works during Christmas or Easter time while students are away.”
Students have often been stereotyped as ‘bad tenants’ to let to because of issues such as late rent, damage to property and noise complaints. Many students do not behave this way but are treated with less respect from landlords than a normal adult working tenant. Iwona agreed, saying:
“Students are still considered to be children by some of the landlords. The truth is they are adult, grown people who require treating accordingly.”
Some lettings agencies could offer more help and advice to struggling students trying to find suitable and affordable accommodation, a fact recognised by ‘Posh Pads’ too:
“Some websites contain lists of property and prices, which is helpful but it is hard and painful to deal with the staff of the agency, as they treat students in a bad manner just because of the fact that they are students. Some letting agents need to give proper attention to the students, knowing they are struggling to find their accommodation.”
With university fees set to rise in the next few years many students may find the hardships of renting private accommodation even fiercer. After 2012 universities will be able to charge tuition fees of up to £9000 per year, taking further education out of many people’s reach, especially when teamed with the high living costs.
Elisha Kyne expressed her concerns over the consequences of the difficult task of finding appropriate student housing:
“The stresses of finding a student house and then paying for it, with high deposits and rent often demanded in advance, can lead to students becoming depressed and even dropping out of university all together.”
“Finding a good quality, affordable, student house is like playing the lottery; it is very unlikely that anyone will win and if they do they are incredibly lucky.”
Living Prices info - http://www.soton.ac.uk/accommodation/privaterented/costofliving.html
Problems with rented student accommodation - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentHousing/DG_064419
Posh Pads website - http://www.poshpads.com/
Elisha Kyne – Email – elishakyne@gmail.com
Posh Pads Lettings Company – Email: iwona@poshpads.com
