Panel including Welfare Officer Chloe Wynne boycott student accommodation awards

Student Accommodation Awards conclude without a winner for their Student Experience category after judges refused to pick a winner on the grounds that none of the nominees offer afforable accommodation.

The panel consisted of ten judges, all students themselves, who were invited by the publication Property Week to pick a winner for the Student Experience category of their inaugural Student Accommodation Awards. However, rather than picking a winner for the category, the judges wrote an open letter to the organisers of the awards.

The letter states: “Unfortunately, none of the entrants could demonstrate that they are meeting the urgent need of students to live in accommodation that will not force them into poverty.”

The letter concludes with: “Unless all students have access to safe, affordable accommodation at every institution and the means to pay for it, there is no cause for celebration, nor the ability for us to award a for-profit sector failing so many of our peers.”

The panel mentioned a 2015 study carried out by the NUS which shows that university rent in the UK has risen by 18% in two years. The average rent is now £146 per week.

A statement made by the organisers of the awards has respected the judges’ decision and responded: “Developers and operators of student accommodation strive to produce the very best environment for students but our student judges have sent a clear message that the industry needs to do better.”

The awards ceremony will take place on December 7. It will go ahead with announcing the winners for categories such as University Halls of Residence and Private Halls of Residence.

However, the Student Experience category will be removed this year and the organisers will review it in 2017. Future awards will include a category for the best affordable student housing.

The incident follows a series of demonstrations against university rent that have been taking place over the last year.

Chloe Wynne, Warwick’s Welfare and Campaign Officer, was one of the judges who took part in the open letter. Chloe shared the letter on Facebook and said: “I was proud to be part of a group of student representatives this week who, when invited to judge private student accommodation awards, declined and used it as an opportunity to protest the inflating costs associated with student living.”