The student housing crisis

When Rosie Moulton moved into her university house in Cardiff, she was excited to make memories with her new housemate. What she didn’t expect were the types of memories that would stick with her.

“She’d been really ill for a few weeks with a bad cough, wheezing and trouble breathing,” said Rosie, 22.

“A doctor in her medicine seminar told her she needed to go to A&E. She ended up having really low oxygen.”

Rosie’s housemate had pneumonia.

The doctors thought exposure to damp and mould in their accommodation played a key role in her spending three days in hospital.

Rosie said her landlord was aware of the poor living standards in the house – but chose not to act.

Her story will resonate with thousands of students across the UK who are experiencing poor conditions in accommodation.

“I don’t think I know a single student who doesn’t have some sort of issue with their accommodation.”
Alex Stanley, National Union of Students’ Vice President for Higher Education

The Government is introducing The Renters’ Rights Bill which will have significant implications for renters.

Poor student housing has become increasingly normalised, but could this bill be a step in the right direction?

Stanley thinks so.

He is optimistic the bill will bring change, meaning landlords must act quicker and accommodation quality must be higher.

Simon Kemp, Codes of Standards administer for student housing charity Unipol, said: “Particularly after Covid, we are seeing a rise in complaints as students feel more vulnerable as they spend more time than ever in their accommodation.”

In her third year Rosie’s landlord attempted to deduct money from their deposit, introducing seemingly random charges such as £100 for replacing fire alarm batteries. This is despite the housing being so damp that ice grew from the walls. They eventually decided to get a solicitor involved after Rosie’s mum, who used to be a lawyer, gave them some legal advice.

They settled the dispute out of court.

“Landlords just get away with it because students are scared or don’t know the laws so won’t stand up to them.”
Rosie Moulton, 22, Cardiff University

Image credit: Rosie Moulton, 22

Image credit: Rosie Moulton

The rat infestation in Ruby's house

Image credit: Ruby Thomas, 20

Image credit: Faye Garrity

Many students are still struggling to hold their landlords to account.

One of those students is Ruby Thomas, a final year student at University of the West of England. The 20-year-old was already worried about the conditions in her accommodation when a leak outside her flatmate’s bedroom caused damp and indoor rain in her house.

Then she found the rats.

Stanley said the numbers were damning in their assessment of contemporary student accommodation.

He said: “Unfortunately, some of the worst landlords in the rental sector are in student accommodation.”

A National Student Accommodation Survey 2024 found that over a third of renters have problems with damp - making it the biggest issue with properties.

So why are letting agencies not doing anything about this?

Kemp believes there has been a decline in vocational landlords, with disinterested letting agencies holding large portfolios increasingly taking their place.

He said: “In Leeds, we have a lot more problems with managing agents than landlords and we think the Renters Reforms will mean landlords will get out of the market.”

Kemp said a lack of contractors and increasing cost of materials are proving problematic for agencies.

The rodents in Ruby’s house were in cupboards and eating their food, roaming around their kitchen and communal spaces. The house of nine decided to involve Bristol City Council in the dispute with her landlord as the issues were not being taken care of. When the letting agency found out they had escalated issues they decided to act.

They put down a few rat traps.

As the agency were ‘acting’ the council could not take this further but Ruby said: “The rats were still coming into the kitchen the day we moved out in May.”

Kemp wished more students took Ruby’s example. “We don’t tend to see students or student unions contacting those local authorities and invoking the powers they do have,” he said.

He said: “We don’t tend to see students or student unions contacting those local authorities and invoking the powers they do have.”

Ruby’s accommodation cost her £195 per week.

This year the Government is set to increase the maintenance loan which many students use to fund their accommodation fees whilst studying at university.

But will this be enough to curb the increasing cost of student rentals?

The monthly average rent has increased from 2023, up from £535 to £550 – leaving students just receiving the maintenance loan with only 50p in their pocket per week after paying their rent and bills, according to the NUS.

Stanley said: “There’s nothing to stop landlords increasing the cost of accommodation in line with the rise in the maintenance loan.

“We cannot be in the situation where we are pricing anyone out of university.”
Alex Stanley, National Union of Students’ Vice President for Higher Education

The situation is so dire that, according to the 2024 study, two in five have thought about dropping out of university entirely due to the cost of rent.

Stanley says many students are missing out on the ‘university experience’. They are not going to societies, they can’t afford to go out and they’re too embarrassed to invite friends to their houses, creating a “two-tier student experience”.

According to a leading survey, among those who pay rent, 64% said they struggle with the cost at least some of the time - and 20% constantly.

These struggles are causing increased stress and mental health problems among students.

“It definitely caused stress and issues for us; we’d gone through a lot,” said Ruby.

“Some people didn’t want to tell their parents either because they didn’t want them to be worried.”

Rosie also experienced these same stresses in every student house she lived in.

“It was scary mould can be dangerous,” she said. “The whole thing was really awful.”

Kemp called on universities to strengthen ties with accommodation providers and equip staff with proper training to better support students’ mental health.

Universities are also facing pressure to take responsibility for accommodation conditions, as many first-year students choose halls based on their recommendations.

This was the approach George Tye, 21, took when he set about finding accommodation in his first year at university.

The history and politics student went to the pharmacy in Easter when he returned home during the holidays. His symptoms were familiar – a bad cough and constantly out of breath.

The pharmacist told George it sounded like mould poisoning.

They said the issue would clear when he was home and away from the mouldy conditions.

He said: “I told them multiple times, at least three times before Christmas and a few times after.

“When I went back it got worse straight away, it took me a while to fully recover.”

In a 2023 survey, 18% of students reported their accommodation caused a new health problem or problems.

It took months for George to recover from the illness and had serious implications for his lifestyle and health.

Purpose-built student accommodation, like the one George stayed in, are not included in the Renters Rights Bill.

While most accommodations are signed up to Unipol's standards, Stanley said this would not have the same impact as standards being legislated for.

Stanley said: “All types of accommodation should be accounted for and all those providing this should be held to a high standard.”

There is no central union to represent student letting agencies. Several student letting agencies were contacted for comment but did not respond.

The bill is expected to become law in summer 2025, but people like Kemp think action can’t come soon enough to curb the issues of poor student housing.

“Nobody wants a student’s death on their hands.”