SU challenges uni on costs

Warwick Students’ Union have launched the ‘Great Accommodation Rip-Off Campaign,’ to gather students’ views on accommodation prices and provisions to present to the University.

The campaign, which will collect student opinion throughout weeks nine and ten, will consider whether current rents for on-campus accommodation are reasonable and attempt to gauge student views on the fairness of price increases for the next academic year.

The Union, as part of its representation of the students, is encouraging people to submit their comments on the Students’ Union website, and to vote on whether current rents are fair and whether they increase by too much each year. These views will then be taken to the University. Rents for the academic year 2010/2011 are yet to be announced.

According to the Students’ Union website, on average a Warwick student pays £96.56 per week in rent. This compares to £79.09 per week at the University of Essex, and £96.42 per week at the University of Sussex; both of which are Universities built at a similar time as Warwick, and so house similar aged accommodation buildings.

The Students’ Union website calculates that the percentage of student loan being spent on accommodation has increased over the past five years. Assuming that a student received the full loan and maintenance grant available, in the academic year 2005/2006 accommodation at Rootes would cost 45.05 per cent of the students’ loan. For the current academic year accommodation at Rootes would cost 66.18 per cent of the students’ funding.

These calculations assume that a student receives the maximum amount of loan and full means-tested bursary; which not all students are eligible for, however all students are entitled to at least 75 percent of the funding.

The length of accommodation lets is an important factor in judging the fairness of rents. For the academic year 2009/2010, a student living in Jack Martin will pay £119.00 per week, compared to the £81.00 per week paid by a student living in Rootes.

However Jack Martin’s 30 week let means that the annual cost is £3570.00, compared to Rootes’ 39 week let and annual cost of £3159.00, leaving only a £411.00 annual difference in price between the two.

An Arthur Vick resident who wished to remain anonymous said that they felt that the £122 per week rent was fairly reasonable for the quality of the accommodation, but “only because we don’t have to pay in the holidays,” reducing the annual cost.

She added, “obviously I’d prefer for it to be cheaper, but for what we get, it’s not bad.” Tocil resident Charlie Andrews, who pays £86 per week in rent, felt that prices charged were reasonable given the quality of facilities, however also said that she finds it “slightly irritating” that she has to pay full rent for the holidays, when she will not be using the room.

However she added that “it is useful, as I don’t have to move out my things.”