One of Three Students Struggle to Pay Rent: Recent NUS Survey Results Reiterate the State of Student Housing

On 14 November, the National Union of Students (NUS) released results of a survey which  reveals that nearly a third of polled students have had difficulties paying their rent in full. 

Amidst a widespread campaign bythe NUSagainst discriminatory practices in the housing system and extortionate rents, the  survey consulted 3,163 students to gauge how the current housing system is treating students and apprentices in the UK. 

Of the polled students, 26 per cent affirmed that they experience difficulties paying their rent in full, while 84 per cent faced issues with their housing, almost half of whom reported instances of mould and mildew. Over a third of the respondents (36 per cent) also said that the process of securing a guarantor had caused them a great deal of stress. 

The NUS UK President, Amira Campbell, issued a statement in response: “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.”

She added: “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.”

The statistics from this survey regarding Scottish students — 649 of the respondents — painted a picture of inequality in the student experience across the UK. The rate of Scottish students struggling with rent was higher at 34 per cent, and nineteen per cent of Scottish students had used a food bank ahead of the national average of seventeen per cent. Where the national average of Scottish students reporting issues with their accommodation used to be 84 per cent, it has increased to 93 per cent. 

Campbell said: “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.” 

On 14 November, students demonstrated outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.  They voiced demands for the Scottish Government to include students in upcoming housing regulations and enforce stronger rent controls against landlords, while also calling for student accommodation to face the same legal regulations as other private sector housing. 

The Scottish Government responded, with Housing Secretary Paul McLennan stating that he was “aware of the difficulties some students have faced in accessing suitable accommodation.”

He said that he “recently chaired a meeting which brought together universities, local authorities and accommodation providers to discuss supply and affordability, and encourage more collaborative working to resolve these issues. Further meetings will be held in due course.”

McLennan also said that he would “expect institutions [such as purpose-built student accommodation] to take affordability into account when setting rents.”

St Andrews Campaign for Affordable Student Housing (CASH) has been vocal about this issue, initiating a Rent Transparency Project to build a community of tenants that fosters an environment of transparency and accountability. Citing the National Student Accommodation Survey (2024) data that two in five students have considered dropping out because of the cost of rent, CASH has also raised awareness of the emotional toll of the experience searching for accommodation. 

There is currently a Rent Survey open,  accessible through their social media accountsp, offering students the chance to contribute towards a comprehensive view of the current housing market in St Andrews. Information provided about students’ living situations via the survey will be added to a database that will help others make informed local renting decisions and guide CASH’s future campaign strategy.

Photo from WikiCommons