Bristol students raise concerns about ‘exploitative landlords’ and ‘extremely dangerous’ mold in new SU housing report

83% of students said their housing conditions affect them. Students spoke of exploitative landlords, broken appliances and “extremely dangerous” mold – all of which contributed to housing conditions that were concluded to be “detrimental to student well-being”.

Despite the “appalling” conditions, rental prices were found to have risen, forcing students to work long weeks to cover the costs.

It found that only 3% of students pay £500 a month without bills and that the most common monthly rent was between £601 and £700 without bills. In 2014/15, the average comparable house price was £396, an increase of 64%.

One respondent claimed that “their rent has gone up from £600 to £1000 a month” and another that the cost meant they were “working 20 hours a week last year (night shifts)”.

This comes at a time when student loans are being changed, making them less student-friendly: students whose degree started after 2022 will take 10 years longer to repay their loan and face a reduced repayment threshold (from £27,295 to £25,000) than post-2012 students.

Landlords were rated the worst of other actors influencing housing, such as street agencies and the SU Housing service, with 20% of students having a “very negative” experience with them.

High street agencies were not far behind with 2.9 out of 5. The most common of these among those surveyed were Digs (14 per cent), SU Lettings (12 per cent) and Flatline (8 per cent)

To address these issues, one recommendation made by the report was the creation of housing counselors and workshops to help students navigate the rental process and deal with difficult landlords.

Another key finding was the struggle international (including EU) students face to find a guarantor, compared to home students. The latter ranked their ease of doing so at 4.05, while international students responded with 2.09. A guarantor must live in the UK, have a good credit history and enough money to pay the tenant’s rent – international students are much less likely to know a UK resident who meets these criteria.

It has been noted that while some universities in the UK act as a guarantor on behalf of students, the University of Bristol does not. The report did not explicitly recommend that course of action, but said “conversations are already taking place at the university and SU to determine whether this is a scheme that needs to be implemented”.

Those from a low socio-economic background also struggled with the safeguards, rating the process 2.99 out of 5. One student lamented the “classist” nature of the system:

They said: “Landlords are awful and also the process of securing a rental home is very classist and unaffordable. If you do not have a guarantor, you cannot rent the house. Those from less privileged backgrounds will not have the same opportunities and access to high incomes. Class divisions at Uni are very apparent when we talk about renting.

The report was commissioned by Izzy Russell, who is Bristol SU’s student life officer, as part of the ‘My Rent, My Rights’ campaign. Commenting on the report, they said: “The university is playing a role in the current bed shortage crisis by continuing to expand student numbers without increasing support. Students are vulnerable to exploitative landlords and as a result their well-being and academic life are adversely affected.

“The national government also has a responsibility – student loans should be raised to reflect rising rents and rent caps should be implemented. As seen in the recent Tenancy Reform Bill, little has been done to support students and we are in crisis.

Commenting on the findings, a University of Bristol spokesperson said: “Bristol is a popular city for both students and non-students, so demand for private rental properties is growing.

“We have worked closely with Bristol City Council to implement a purpose-built student housing scheme. This will increase supply in parts of the city where investment in student housing is beneficial to the local community and reduce pressure on other parts of the housing market. For example, we have new developments planned with partners in Temple Quarter and Bedminster Down.

“Our students can receive support from our student accommodation team and we offer a range of financial support packages, bursaries and bursaries.

“We have increased our hardship funding and students with money worries can speak to our trained money advisers during daily sessions. There is a range of useful information on the ‘money advice’ pages on our website.

“We are also working closely with Bristol SU on what extra support we can offer to students in private accommodation, particularly those who are struggling.”

Featured image: Bristol SU

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