The organisers of the protests had said that both estate agents and Durham University have failed to recognise the effects of the rent prices going up by over 150% in the past year and the oversubscription of students- meaning there are more students than there are houses.
Yet, this is not an isolated incident just affecting Durham students. Here in Newcastle, rents on student houses have also significantly increased and have left students wondering how they will be able to afford their rent for next year.
Furthermore, there are reports of estate agents taking advantage of first years, who have no previous experience with the housing market, and scaremongering them into putting a deposit down on the first house they see
First-year students are seemingly one of the most affected groups this year as they are having to find people to live with after only two months of University, whereas previously most students wait until after Christmas before they secure a house. Furthermore, there are reports of estate agents taking advantage of first years, who have no previous experience with the housing market, and scaremongering them into putting a deposit down on the first house they see.
A first-year student, who’d like to remain anonymous said: “ I felt like my lack of knowledge around finding a house was exploited by the property companies and felt very pressured to sign a contract quickly as I was being told misinformation about all the houses taken.”
It begs the question- ‘is there a better system needed for student housing?’ It is without a doubt we do, but the application of a new system will be a lot harder as we don’t know what a better system would be, especially in a large city like Newcastle where second and third-year housing has very little to do with the Universities themselves.