Friday 26-01-2024 - 13:28

 

 

The University has announced the cost of accommodation on campus for next year; your President explains how she fought for a rent freeze for the most vulnerable students.

 

 

The University have released the prices for accommodation on campus for 2024/25 which shows a 7.6% increase on last year’s prices (last year’s increase was 14.1%). This is an increase that I do not support and have fought against.

As President, I fought very hard for the University to implement some protection for the most vulnerable students. The result of this is a rent freeze for some of the cheapest rooms on campus. This is the first time since 2015 that an officer has successfully negotiated with the University on this issue and represents a huge win for students living on campus.

The decision on how much to increase campus rent by each year is made by the University. As President of the Students’ Union, I sit on the committee where this decision is made. During the relevant meeting I made a strong statement about the ongoing cost of living crisis and its devastating impact on students. I explained how the SFE student loan does not cover most student’s campus rent and that any increase in rent would most likely vastly outweigh the expected meagre increase in student loans. I did not support the increase in rent during that meeting and I do not support it now.

Following the committee’s agreement to the increase I met with the Director of Commercial Services to discuss the specific impact on different accommodation types. By referencing research on historic rent increases I was able to present options for how to reasonably finance a rent freeze.

In its most recent financial statements Lancaster University reported a “Total income (as reported)” of £381.8 million and a “Total expenditure (as reported)” of £345.9 million. The difference between these numbers is £35.9 million (more details on income and expenditure are available in the annual report). £36.8 million of Lancaster University’s income is attributed to “Colleges and Residences”.

Lancaster University has “around 6700 bed spaces” of accommodation. “In September 2003, the University entered into a contract with UPP (Lancaster) Ltd for the provision and maintenance of certain residential properties providing accommodation to circa 4,350 students.”

In its most recent set of accounts (for the year 21-22) UPP reported a turnover of £26.3 million attributed to the provision of student accommodation on Bailrigg campus. In its respective accounts for that financial year the University reported that it received an income of £34 million from “Colleges and Residences”.

Since the beginning of their agreement Lancaster University have paid UPP over £336 million (according to the financial accounts for UPP (Lancaster) Ltd from 2003 to present).

Lancaster University entered an arrangement with UPP in 2003. It will not end until 2042.

The University was given opportunity to comment on this article and said the following: “The University was pleased to work with the Students’ Union and offer some students accommodation at last year’s rate. In addition, we understand that many people are feeling the challenge of rising costs in daily life and as a result have significantly increased the funding to support students most in need.”

As the cost-of-living crisis continues, and access to much-needed funding dries up, we have been working across the Students’ Union to campaign for cost-of-living support for you. We need your help to #SaveOurSupper – more information on our website.