industry news
Students rent strike in London O
ver 150 students at a top university have staged a rent strike claiming their accommodation costs have
become unaffordable. The students at University College London
demanded a 40 per cent cut in their rent. Cut the Rent campaigners say that rents at the
university have risen by around 56 per cent since 2009. The affected halls of residence were Ramsey
Hall, which has 473 rooms that cost £158.97– £262.43 to rent per week, and Max Rayne House, which is one of the cheaper halls at the university, with 272 rooms that cost £102.97– £232.40 a week.
“The Cut the Rent campaign was set up last year at the university. It says it has previously raised the issue of spiralling costs with the university, as well as organising strikes against ‘unbearable’ living conditions”
Campaign
The action follows a similar protest by UCL students last year against noise and a rat infestation. Students were collectively awarded £400,000 in compensation following resolution of that dispute. The Cut the Rent campaign was set up last year
at the university. It says it has previously raised the issue of spiralling costs with the university, as well as organising strikes against ‘unbearable’ living conditions. Shelly Asquith, Vice President of Welfare at the
National Union of Students said: “I take my hat off to the students at UCL who, for the best part
Ostrich effect
A spokeswoman at UCL defended the rent levels, saying the university’s rents are competitive for the location. She said: “While we understand the concerns around the cost of accommodation in London, it is inaccurate to suggest that UCL accommodation is making a profit for the university. “All of the money that UCL receives in rent is
ploughed back into residences. While the proportions may vary year to year, we invariably spend more on residences than we receive in rental income. Our rents are competitive in comparison with equivalent London institutions and far less than for comparable accommodation in the private sector.” But the problem is affecting more young people
than just students with a third of British 18 to 24-year-olds too scared to check their bank balance and suffering from 'ostrich effect' - preferring to stick their heads in the sand rather than find out how much money they have, or don't have. Research released as part of National Student
Money Week found that 34 per cent of young adults expect to go into debt this year. Some 31 per cent admit they lose track of their spending and struggle to budget effectively, and 46 per cent say they lose sleep over the state of their personal finances. David Webber, managing director of financial
technology company Intelligent Environments, which compiled the research, said: “This ‘ostrich effect’ is one that must be turned around if young people are ever to regain control of their own finances. Greater visibility around spending habits will make people more aware of their bank balance, making it harder for them to go into debt unnecessarily.”
Benefits freeze to hit tenants and landlords in the wallet
many of them tenants. The Children’s Society has estimated that
A
low-income families could lose up to 12 per cent over the next four years as a result of plans to freeze child tax credits, working tax credits and jobseekers allowance. It says more than seven million children are living in families likely to be affected by the benefits freeze, due to be implemented from April. These changes will almost inevitably result in
cuts to the income of private and social housing landlords, as these families struggle to pay their
national charity is warning about the impact of a four-year benefit freeze on the income levels of millions of families,
rent. Further changes might be announced in the next budget. In its research paper, called The Future of Family
Incomes, the charity provides a number of examples showing how different families will be affected by a variety of welfare changes with their incomes falling by between £239 and £771 a month. As more tenants move on to Universal Credit as
it is rolled out across the country, (UC combines all benefits into a single monthly payment) it is expected that problems with managing family budgets, will push up rent arrears. This in turn could push up the number of evictions which are already running at record levels.
6 | HMM March 2016 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
of a year, mounted a successful rent campaign. This is not unreasonable when the rent in London is more than 100 per cent of the maximum loans and grants available for students.”
Private landlord prosecuted over gas safety certificates
A
private landlord was prosecuted after failing to provide gas safety certificates for two rented properties.
Harrogate Magistrates’ Court heard that
following a complaint from a tenant, an Improvement Notice (IN) was issued to landlord Dean Taylor by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) for non-provision of a gas safety certificate for the gas appliances in his property. Mr Taylor did not comply with that notice and
during the investigation another of his properties was also found to be without a gas safety certificate. Dean Taylor, of Gentian Glade, Harrogate,
pleaded guilty to breaching Section 33 (1) (g) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, also Section 36(3) and Section 36(6) of the Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations. He was given 240 hours of community service and instructed to pay full HSE costs of £2,767 by Harrogate Magistrates’ Court. After the hearing, HSE inspector Julian
Franklin commented: “If you rent property out, you must comply with requirements of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations, including the need to have a gas safety certificate. Gas appliances should be regularly checked, as faulty appliances can kill.”
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