Jamie Chatfield, Treasurer of York University Student Socialist Society
York Student Socialists celebrated a significant referendum victory recently after months of campaigning on the quality and price of housing in York.
Our campaign has focussed on calling for the establishment of a not-for-profit letting agency run by York University Student Union (YUSU) in an attempt to break the power that private agencies have over the off-campus student housing market in York.
We gathered over 800 signatures from students who were enthused and inspired by the ideas we put forward and the motion went to referendum in October.
During the allotted week of referendum campaigning hundreds of posters were put up and thousands of leaflets given out.
The popularity of the campaign is best demonstrated by the fact that no official ‘No’ campaign against the motion was launched! In the end, the victory was a landslide, with 1,086 students voting in favour of the proposals to 117 against.
The implications of this victory could be massive for students and even long-term residents in the York area.
A not-for-profit letting agency could massively reduce the price of rented houses under its control. It could also create a competitive environment that causes both other agencies and university accommodation services to lower their prices.
The campaign continues.
See www.socialiststudents.org.uk for a full version of this article
