By Aminah Iqbal
Student accommodation rent prices have substantially increased in Leicester during the past year, leaving students worried about how they are going to afford paying their bills.
University of Leicester student Noor Haider said: “It has been a struggle finding accommodations for next year that are in my budget because most places have increased their prices by a lot.”
This means students are either left with the options of paying more out of their own money or finding cheaper rooms to rent but further away from the university.
Noor added: “It is unfair to the students that can’t afford basic necessities, as their student finance will not even cover the cost of rent. When job vacancies are also decreased, you feel helpless.”
Lettings negotiator Jake Lewis, who works at student housing agency Sulets, gave an insight into why prices have increased.
He said: “The rent prices have mainly increased due to the cost-of-living crisis where we have seen bills such as water and electricity increase the most.”
He gave examples of a popular student accommodation in Leicester where before covid the rent prices were £139 per week and now have increased to £159 per week.
Jake added: “Contractors have increased their service fees which means accommodations have had little choice but to put their prices up.”
Noor also explained that some of her own friends have had to take gap years to work and save more money before returning to university or must commute to campus from their home cities.
Students are also worried that it cannot be guaranteed that these rent prices will not keep increasing over the years, leaving more of them in bad financial positions.
