What We Do
Cut the Rent is a national movement, with students in London, Bristol, Oxford, Sussex, Aberdeen and elsewhere taking action to persuade their university to reduce rent costs, open up the process by which accommodation is managed and ensure student voices are placed at the heart of all decisions. As a result of Cut the Rent movements, Universities have yielded to student voices nationwide
Rent is everyone’s problem.
Therefore, we, as students of the University of Bath, demand that the University:
1. Take urgent action to vastly expand the provision of genuinely affordable student accommodation. Bath, Cut the Rent proposes rent should be capped for the cheapest standard single room at 70% of the minimum UK maintenance loan, and that the rent for the most expensive standard single room should be capped at 70% of the maximum UK maintenance loan, across all university-managed accommodation.
2. Publish a complete breakdown of the running and maintenance costs of student accommodation.
3. Ensure accommodation is actually accessible to all students and in particular for marginalised groups including women, BAME students, LGBTQ+ students, students with disabilities and students from poorer socio-economic backgrounds. If these demands are not met, we will continue to take action and will have our discontent heard.
Reasons to Join Us
Unfortunately, as British Higher Education treats students like consumers, our wallets are rapidly replacing our brains as the main reason for success at university.
When it comes to rent, students face an estimated average shortfall of £8000 between living costs and income and support for student is diminishing whilst debt is likely to rise further.
The situation is even more severe at the University of Bath and has reached breaking point. Undergraduate student accommodation prices rose by an average of 5.5% from 2016/17 to 2017/18, and again by 3% from 2017/2018 to 2018/2019; this rise is consistent with a pattern of huge increases for several years. In Bath, Cut the Rent’s research shows that no more than 8% of beds are covered by 70% of the maximum maintenance loan (£5740), meaning that the vast majority beds in university accommodation are barely covered by student finance.
The University of Bath generates £30 million pounds from accommodation and hospitality, roughly 11% of its total income. However the financial load placed on students required for the University to make those £30 million pounds puts unacceptable mental strains on students. The University is planning to build only expensive luxury accomadation, while not addressing the current state of most student halls (Lights and appliances not working, Mould, rats etc).
We are a welcoming and inclusive group. We do not charge
Committee