NUS calls for rent guarantor ban amid student housing crisis
A significant number of students in the UK are struggling to meet their housing costs and the government must ban rent guarantors as part of the Renters' Rights Bill.
That's the call from the National Union of Students (NUS) which says its recent housing survey reveals that one-third of students are so hard-up they are using food banks.
Its research also shows that 26% of students have faced difficulties paying their rent in full, while 60% were required to secure a guarantor to rent a property.
Of those, 40% found the process of finding a guarantor 'challenging'.
The NUS says the guarantor requirement is particularly stressful for international and low-income students, who often lack the financial safety net available to others.
'Housing system predicated on exploitation'
The NUS UK president, Amira Campbell, said: "The results of this research lay bare what we sadly already knew, students and apprentices across the UK are suffering at the hands of a housing system predicated on exploitation and profit extraction.
"We should be ashamed as a society that we are allowing policies like the requirement for a UK-based guarantor to stand as a barrier in the way of our most vulnerable students having a safe and secure place to live."
She added: "Our country's unfair and inequitable housing system is limiting students and apprentices from feeling part of their communities.
"We need urgent action from the UK Government, and devolved governments in all the nations across the UK, to fix this system and help student renters."
Student renters reporting issues
Housing conditions also emerged as a major concern in the survey with 84% of student tenants reporting issues with their accommodation.
Nearly half (48%) claim to have dealt with mould or mildew, 44% have faced heating or cooling problems and 20% have encountered pest infestations.
The financial strain on students is also evident, with 36% struggling to pay their housing costs.
That led to nearly 40% having gone without heating, and 32% say that the current housing system leaves them feeling isolated.
The abolition of guarantor requirements
Now, the NUS is calling for the abolition of guarantor requirements in the Renters' Rights Bill currently going through Parliament.
The organisation argues that the existing system is discriminatory and exacerbates the housing crisis for vulnerable students.
Student protestors have already held a rally outside the Scottish Parliament on the issue of guarantors and housing standards in student accommodation.
And last month, leaders from more than 50 students' unions met with MPs at Westminster to discuss the impact of guarantor requirements on students.
