Dozens of students about to start at Reading university are being forced to spend the first two weeks of their studies living in hotels because of a shortage of affordable accommodation.
The university has accepted 3,884 undergraduates so far this academic year – almost 400 more than last year – but it does not have enough rooms for them in its own halls of residence.
The steep rise in student numbers at Reading is typical of universities across the country, as this is the first year that the cap on the student numbers per course has been lifted. Figures from Ucas show that 409,000 students in the UK were accepted onto higher education courses after A-level results were published in August – a rise of 3% on last year and an all-time record.
The surge in demand for student digs has left some undergraduates with no other alternative than to stay in a hotel. They have been given a fortnight to find somewhere else.
“It is going to be very difficult for students who are in temporary accommodation, like hotels, to arrange shared housing when they don’t know anyone and most of this housing will have been taken already by second-year students,” said a spokesman for the NUS. He added that, while Reading was the first university he had heard of this year putting students up in hotels, other institutions could face similar issues. “The demand for university-owned accommodation is huge because the private-sector alternative is so much more expensive, and there are more students than ever this year vying for affordable rooms,” he said.
One Reading student said she has been allocated a hotel room at a reduced rate of £19.50 a night and given two weeks to find somewhere else. During this time she’s been advised to look for a suitable house share or wait for a place in halls to become available. The university says that around 5% of offer-holders drop out before enrolment or in the first part of term.
“I was totally prepared to compromise on accommodation, as Reading was my second choice, but I wasn’t expecting this,” she said. “It’s all quite unsettling.”
She said the university also recommended privately run halls as an alternative. But with rooms starting at £253 a week, compared with just over £100 a week at its own self-catering halls, she considered this too expensive.
Another undergraduate who missed out on student halls in Reading this year posted on Facebook that he had been reserved a room at the Millennium Madejski Hotel, which would otherwise cost around £150 a night. Instead he will pay £19.50 and the university will foot the bill for the remainder.
Staff at the four-star Madejski confirmed that all paying guests – including students – will have full use of the hotel’s facilities, which include a spa, gym, swimming pool and sauna.
“It sounds very nice to be in a hotel, but the first couple of weeks at university are very important for meeting friends and building confidence and this experience is going to be stressful for new students,” said the NUS spokesman.
Even during the last academic year, when the student number cap was still in place, university-owned accommodation was in very short supply in some areas.
Last September, undergraduates at Bristol reported having to share rooms in halls which had bunk beds – but one single desk to study. And similar complaints came from freshers at Winchester and Aberdeen. Even students who are lucky in their search for affordable digs this September will face a typical £8,000 shortfall between living costs and income from loans and any maintenance grants, according to figures from the NUS.
“We have been clear during the 2015 recruitment process that we do not guarantee accommodation for students who only make Reading their insurance place and that they need to consider their accommodation options early,” said a spokesperson for Reading university.
However, she estimates that between 30 and 40 of the students who have been put into hotels will be allocated halls places in the coming week.
“The majority of the remaining students will be living in a hotel at the heart of the main campus where we can provide pastoral care and our Student Union can ensure they play a full part in Welcome Week,” she said.
“We are running a helpdesk to advise students and their families about their options and make arrangements to move [them] into halls accommodation or private rooms, as applicable.”
-
This article was amended on 23 September to include more accommodation information from Reading university.
