York students fear being 'priced out of education' due to rising rent

Students in York have said they feared being "priced out of education" due to an increase in accommodation costs.

University of York students told the BBC they had seen their weekly rent increase by between £50 and £60.

Postgraduate Ellen Rintoul said she was concerned as maintenance loans had not been adjusted accordingly.

A university spokesperson said an off-campus rent grant had been launched and plans to address housing demands in the city were under way.

Students told BBC Look North they were paying about £800 a month to rent a room in a house shared with five other people.

Ms Rintoul said: "I'm really concerned we are going to see that students are being priced out of their education - but not by tuition fees or book fees, it's going to be just the fact they can't find affordable housing."

Other students, like Bailey McIntosh, said they had seen their weekly rent rise by nearly £50.

The politics undergraduate said she had expected an increase, but not to such an extent.

"It just ruins so much of your last year at university," she said.

"Everyone's had to cut back. Everyone in my house has worked nine-to-five jobs the whole summer and we all have jobs while in the third year and having to deal with dissertations and modules."

Meanwhile, Cameron Mackeller, who saw his weekly rent increase by £60, said his former flatmate now commuted from Hartlepool to York.

He said: "I mean, it's definitely shocking. We are in a northern city and I thought, 'right now I'm paying more than my friends in London'."

Student housing charity Unipol said it estimated the average rent for students in Yorkshire had risen by about 20% since 2021.

Victoria Tolmie-Loverseed, from Unipol, said the level of maintenance loans and the availability of accommodation were factors causing problems for students.

"The maximum maintenance a student is able to get if they live away from home, outside London, is £9,978 - and that's not too different from the level of rent they are going to have to pay," she said.

"In some locations in Yorkshire, York in particular, we have seen student housing shortages because there are just more students than there is accommodation available."

Research by the charity found that around five times more student housing was built in Leeds in the last three years than in York.

A spokesperson for the University of York said it had launched an off-campus rent grant to help eligible students with housing costs on a one-off basis.

New accommodation at different price points was also being offered to students, as well as bursaries and financial assistance, the spokesperson added.

The university said it was working with the local council and York St John University on plans to address the housing demands in the city.

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