York University - Student housing letting agency victory

Megan Ollerhead, University of York Socialist Society

It's an old adage that student accommodation is always bad. Apparently, living with walls covered in damp and families of slugs just goes with the territory, like pre-drinks and bar crawls, 'all part of the university experience'.

In practice, this really means that students nationwide are paying well over the odds for what can be incredibly dangerous houses.

Rents on York's campus have gone up by between £15 and £20 a week since I started, and no accommodation there is now less than £100 a week. This figure includes the accommodation blocks that were closed one summer to get rid of the large quantities of asbestos in the walls.

The off-campus outlook is also bleak. An investigation of York's recommended off-campus accommodation register last year revealed that 85% of properties listed had serious problems. Of these, one quarter were "category one" risks, including potentially fatal electrical hazards and no fire alarms.

Letting agencies in the city are known for their cabal-like behaviour, engineering price hikes that leave students with no real choice of price range.

Although this is a problem everywhere, it can be combated. After more than a year of hard, effective campaigning by our Socialist Society, York University Student Union will open its own not-for-profit letting agency in autumn 2015.

It will be transparent in its transactions, with no agency fees, and totally accountable to the student body. Each property on its books will also be accredited according to the city council's highest quality standards.

Winning the letting agency was hard work, but worth it.

We set up campaign stalls on campus, creating information leaflets, petitions and even a magazine. We attended debates, held open meetings and spoke to student papers.

Eventually the student union called a referendum on the issue, which was successful.

Now, I sit on the letting agency planning committee to make sure it stays true to its original aims.

Not only will this letting agency improve the housing market for York students, but its existence is proof that students are prepared to struggle against the illegal and dangerous activities of landlords and the letting agents.

This struggle should be taken up by campus activists everywhere to give young people the living conditions they deserve at prices they can afford.

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