Students shouldn't have to slum it in ageing halls of residence that would make the most hardened backpacker gasp in horror, writes Alexandra Smith, but sometimes you wonder where the problem lies.
One lone shower complete with cracked pipes and a temperamental hot water tap serving the needs of dozens of students. Rodents setting up home in the communal kitchen, and birds making nests in the roof.
We have all heard the horror stories.
And no-one would deny that as students set off on their rite of passage, they should have the right to live in a clean home. Comfortable, even. New codes of standards to be introduced next month by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister should set in place some tougher guidelines for both private landlords and universities who run their own halls.
The standards will protect students from unscrupulous landlords and give them the right to demand that poorly maintained accommodation be repaired.
But a fix-it for substandard student accommodation? Hardly. Week-old pizza boxes will remain lying around, ashtrays will still overflow with butts, and food that no longer resembles anything edible will sit idle in the fridge. Pranksters will still think it funny to use the dishwasher for jeans as well as plates.
As a university student in Australia not so long ago, I did the unthinkable, by most British standards, and stayed at home while I did my degree. The university accommodation was more than acceptable. It was not old, it was well maintained by management and it was fairly cheap. So why?
Call me crazy, but I couldn't stand to live in self-inflicted squalor that too many roommates seemed to find acceptable. No set of standards was going to stop that.
