Students face fifth consecutive year of ‘unjustified’ price hikes for on-campus halls

In five years, rents on campus have increased by one third on average, with the cheapest option set to cost 53% more than in 2022/23. 

The average price of on-campus accommodation has risen by over £50 per week over the last five years. In 2022/23, average rent at Warwick was £155 per week. It has risen every year since and currently sits at £198 per week – above national average for university accommodation. It is set to rise again, to £207 per week, next academic year. 

In a snap poll conducted by The Boar, just 3% of respondents answered that the on-campus accommodation at Warwick is not too expensive. Almost half questioned coming to Warwick because of the cost of accommodation. 

There have been significant differences between accommodation blocks, with the likes of Lakeside and Cryfield Standard increasing by over 30% during this period, while Rootes and Bluebell have only risen by 17%. 

In 2026/27, prices will rise by almost 5% on average, ending this run of disinflation

Prior to the release of next year’s accommodation prices, rises had been slowing. In 2023, prices rose by 6.6% on average (excluding Cryfield Apartments, Westwood, and Whitefields, due to limited data), due to the nationwide hike to energy prices in 2022. The following year, prices rose by 5.6%.

Things seemed to belooking up for Warwick’s on-campus residents when, for the 2025/26 academic year, rents rose by a period low of 3.9%. This academic year also saw rent prices frozen in Rootes and Claycroft, the only instances of rent-freezing occurring over this period.  

However, in 2026/27, prices will rise by almost 5% on average, ending this run of disinflation. This includes a period high of an 11.2% increase for Claycroft, which can presumably be attributed in part to the ongoing maintenance and refurbishment work. 

Over the five years, there have been several instances of rent for a certain residence rising significantly between consecutive academic years. For 2025/26, Cryfield Standard rose by £13 per week, up 10.7% from the previous year. In 2024, rent for a room in Lakeside went up by £17 per week (+9.2%). The same year, rent for Warwick’s most expensive residence, Bluebell, increased by a staggering £22 per week (+9.9%), bringing it to £245 per week.  

By contrast, the most expensive en-suite option at Coventry University that year was £77 a week cheaper.One student was keen to point out to The Boar: “It’s frustrating [that] you can get the same standard ofaccommodation at other universities for much cheaper.” Next academic year, Bluebell will cost students £255 per week. 

We have agreed that we remain competitive within the sector, that there are a variety of contracts to suit student needs, and that our rents can cover increases such as rising utility prices and compliance costs

University statement

A University spokesperson told The Boar: “Warwick Accommodation offers students a range of accommodation types while maintaining competitive rents compared to other institutions.”  

“In consultation with student representatives, we have agreed that we remain competitive within the sector, that there are a variety of contracts to suit student needs, and that our rents can cover increases such as rising utility prices and compliance costs.” 

The cheapest accommodation option on campus has risen by £45 per week over this period. Whitefields, closed in 2024, charged £85 per week for rent in 2022/23. Next year, Rootes will cost residents £130 per week. In five years, the bottom line of rent on campus has risen by 53%. One student told The Boar: “It’s unfair to have closed the cheapest accommodation without offering any alternative.” None of the on-campus residences at Warwick next year can be fully covered by a minimum annual maintenance loan of £5,048. 

The lack of affordable on-campus accommodation is keenly felt by Warwick’s students. Just four residences – Claycroft, Cryfield Standard, Rootes, and Tocil – will remain under the £200 per week threshold next year, compared to eleven in 2022/23. In a snap poll conducted by The Boar, 92% of respondents agreed that on-campus accommodation at Warwick is too expensive. Some called for a freeze on the cheapest residence, while others lamented how lengthy let contracts exacerbate the issue.One student described the price of the cheapest en-suite option as “insane”, while another labelled theoverall price rises “unjustified and scary”. 

Information from October 2025 indicated that university accommodation prices have risen nationally by 80% since 2010. By comparison, the average weekly rent for private renters in England has risen by 55%.Posted to an online forum, a Warwick prospectus from 2003 detailed the ‘typical rents’ for the 2001/02 academic year, with a ‘single room’ available for as low as £52 per week.  

The quality we get for the price isn’t okay

Warwick student

Rent in halls at that time was also “for only 30 weeks of the year – ie. when you are actually at Warwick”, an option that is no longer available. The shortest contracts are the 35-week let option at Jack Martin. Though most undergraduate residences are 40 week lets, Lakeside, Cryfield Apartments, and Cryfield Townhouses are each 42 week lets, while Tocil is 44. Contracts for returning students are all minimum 44 week let.  

While some price rises are justified by refurbishments, or national inflation rates, others appear without justification. One student told The Boar: “The quality we get for the price isn’t okay.”  

The University spokesperson told The Boar: “We recognise that students expect high-quality, affordable accommodation. Over the next five years Warwick is undertaking a major maintenance programme of our student accommodation, including the redevelopment of Claycroft that began in summer 2025.” 

The refurbishments at Claycroft, which include ‘excessive redecoration’ of bathrooms, communal areas, and remodelling of the laundrette, are set to complete by the next academic year. Two buildings have been left in constant use, “allowing students to safely relocate between blocks during the academic year”. Lakeside’s significant rent increase in 2024 also correlated to a £1.1 million refurbishment programme that took place over that summer. 

Our SU is totally silent on this – they should be doing far more, much more vocally

Warwick student

Arthur Vick and Heronbank were both also built between 1993 and 2003. The en-suites in Arthur Vick were replaced in 2019, but Heronbank has seen no major refurbishments or renovations recently. Despite this, its price has still increased by over 23% in the last five years.  

The cheapest en-suite accommodation on campus, Heronbank, is one of just three residences open to returning students in 2026/27, compared to six this year. Students registered with Disability and Wellbeing Services make up a significant proportion of those staying on campus beyond first year. As one student told The Boar: “It is too expensive [but] the en-suite subsidy for disabled students is a positive.”  

One student called out the Students’ Union for not doing enough to represent the student body on this issue: “Our SU is totally silent on this – they should be doing far more, much more vocally.” 

Alijah Taha, President of the SU, told The Boar: “The Students’ Union works with the University when it makes decisions on accommodation costs and has consistently challenged the need to ensure value for money.” 

We will continue to work with student representatives to ensure that Warwick Accommodation meets the needs of our diverse student body, is competitively priced, and receives investment to meet future needs

University statement

He said the SU works to “highlight student feedback” on costs and value for money through the Student Rents Working Group, “but despite out involvement the University has committed to incremental increases to accommodation costs in its long-term planning”. 

“We will continue to [ensure] students’ voices are considered in the University planning cycle.” 

 The spokesperson for the University concluded: “We will continue to work with student representatives to ensure that Warwick Accommodation meets the needs of our diverse student body, is competitively priced, and receives investment to meet future needs.”